AC approves 2-day transit remand of Sindh DG parks

RAWALPINDI: The Accountability Court Rawalpindi Saturday approved two-day transit remand of Liaquat Qaimkhani, former director general Parks and Horticulture at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).

The court directed the NAB officials to conduct complete medical tests of the accused. The accused will be presented in an Islamabad Accountability Court tomorrow (Monday).

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) alleged that Liaquat Qaimkhani embezzled at least Rs1 billion through fraudulent schemes. The NAB authorities also seized the official record of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). The list of 200 costly confiscated items at Qaimkhani’s residence includes eight luxury vehicles, 171 tolas gold jewellery, modern weapons, documents of bungalows in Lahore and Karachi. Moreover, about two lockers measuring four-six feet have also been recovered which could not be opened so far. Local and foreign currency worth millions of rupees has also been recovered. The foreign currency includes Saudi riyals, Singapore dollars, UAE dhirams and US dollars.

Qaimkhani, who was arrested in a raid by the NAB on Wednesday, is accused of heading a group of financial racketeers that included former members of the KMC and senior politicians from different political parties. The NAB said Qaimkhani was involved in setting up 71 ghost parks in Karachi over a period of 20 years. He also allegedly registered fake companies for carrying out repairs and maintenance in the ghost parks.

On Thursday, officials of NAB Rawalpindi had acquired a three-day transit remand of Qaimkhani in the Bagh-e-Ibne Qasim scam. Pleading innocence, Qaimkhani said all the cases against him were false, and that he will prove all the allegations wrong in the court of law. He said that he belongs to a landlord family and that all the properties are shared. Currently, Qaimkhani was working as adviser to Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar.