Khawaja brothers’ case adjourned until 28th

LAHORE: An accountability court on Monday adjourned hearing of Paragon City reference against former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique till Sept 28. Accountability Court Judge Syed Jawadul Hassan conducted the reference proceedings wherein the Khawaja brothers were produced on expiry of their judicial remand term.

During the proceedings, Advocate Amjad Pervaiz, on behalf of Khawaja Salman Rafique, advanced his arguments on an application challenging the jurisdiction of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the court in the matter. He argued that neither the bureau had the power to investigate the case nor the court had the authority to hear it. He submitted that Paragon City was a private limited company.

If a company was involved in fraud, then investigations could be held against such a company under the Companies Act 2017. He submitted that Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) worked as a regulator under the Companies Act, but the SECP failed to perform its duties and it did not conduct any probe. He submitted that there were neither allegations of corruption against the Khawaja brothers nor it was claimed that they misused their positions to gain benefits. He submitted that the executive was not empowered to select the forum for the trial under the apex court judgements. However, a NAB prosecutor opposed the plea, saying that it was illegal to challenge jurisdiction after indictment.

He submitted that under the Companies Act, NAB had not been stopped from investigating a fraud committed with masses. He said that jurisdiction could not be challenged after the indictment under the Supreme Court judgements.

The trial court could not review its decision after indictment, he added. Subsequently, the court adjourned further hearing till Sept 28 and directed the parties for concluding their arguments on the application, on the next date of hearing.

On Sept 4, the court indicted Khawaja brothers, who pleaded not guilty and contended to contest the charges. Besides the Khawaja brothers, Nadeem Zia, Umar Zia, and Farhan Ali were also nominated in the reference. The reference stated that the Khawaja brothers, through their ''benamidars'' and with the abetment of former MPA Qaiser Amin Butt and Nadeem Zia, established a housing project in the name of Air Avenue. The project was later converted into a new housing project namely Paragon City (Pvt) Ltd, which NAB said was an illegal society and not approved by the Lahore Development Authority. Former railways minister and his brother received monetary benefits of Rs 58 million and 39 million, respectively, from the society through proxy firms under the grab of consultancy services, it added. The Khawaja brothers were arrested on Dec 11, 2018 by the bureau. A Lahore High Court bench dismissed post-arrest bail petitions of the Khawaja brothers on June 18. However, they had not approached the apex court in the matter yet.