Bail pleas dismissed

A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench Monday dismissed bail petitions of two accused involved in the highway corruption scandal.

The bench comprising Justice Muhammad Tariq Abbasi and Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad heard the bail petitions, filed by accused- Shaukat Hussain Baloch and Naveed Murad. During the proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel argued that his clients hand been behind bars since Oct 2018 on charges of Rs 60 million embezzlement in construction of the Mian Channu-Hala double road project.

He submitted that all allegations leveled against his clients were baseless. He pleaded with the court to grant post-arrest bail to the accused. However, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor opposed the request, and submitted that the accused had been part of the project from 2006 to 2007. He submitted that the accused allegedly purchased land on bogus documents for the project. "The accused, through fake vouchers, distributed millions of rupees among bogus victims," he added. He submitted that they were arrested on the basis of solid evidence, whereas two co-accused had already entered into plea bargain with the bureau and returned money.