LAHORE: An accountability court Monday sought more arguments from parties on acquittal applications filed by Provincial Minister Sabtain Khan and other accused in the Chiniot mines and minerals case on January 28.
Accountability Court Judge Sajad Ali conducted the case proceedings, wherein the Sabtain Khan and other accused appeared and got their attendance marked. The counsel advanced their arguments on acquittal application of the accused during the proceedings. They submitted that the new amended NAB ordinance was also applicable on the old cases.
They submitted that the mining contract was not awarded during 2007 when Sabtain Khan was a minister for mines and minerals in the PML-Q government. Sabtain Khan and other accused had filed acquittal applications, saying that after the New Amended NAB ordinance, the reference did not fall under the jurisdiction of the bureau.
Besides Sibtain Khan , Salman Ghani, Muhammad Aslam, Abdul Sattar Mian, and Imtiaz Ahmad Cheema had been named as the accused in the reference filed by National Accountability Bureau . The bureau had alleged that Sibtain Khan exceeded his powers and awarded a multi-billion contract to a firm of his choice during 2007 when he was minister for mines and minerals in the PML-Q government.
The bureau stated the company that was given the contract had a paid-up capital of Rs 2.5 million only and also lacked the experience required for the project. It is pertinent to mention here that the bureau arrested Sibtain Khan on June 14, 2019 but he obtained post-arrest bail from the Lahore High Court on September 19, 2019.
