PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has given directions to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman to submit comments in a bail petition of Ameer Ghazan Hoti in the weapons procurement scam. The court has given time of one week to submit comments.
A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Muhammad Daud Khan reissued the notice to the NAB chairman. Earlier, the PHC had refused bail to Ghazan Hoti, brother of former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti, but this time he submitted the bail petition on various grounds.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Qazi Jawad Ihsanullah, submitted that the NAB had submitted reference against the petitioner about one year ago but the trial has not resumed to date. He submitted that Ghazan Hoti was arrested by the NAB on the statement of principal accused and contractor, Arshad Majeed, that he had given Rs 195 million to Raza Ali to hand over to Ghazan Hoti.
The lawyer informed the bench that the other co-accused Raza Ali had entered into a plea bargain with the NAB. The NAB chairman had accepted his application in which he did not mention Ghazan Hoti’s role in the case to hand over the money to him on the basis of which he was arrested and charged in the case.
After the plea bargain of Raza Ali, he stated there was no role of Ghazan Hoti in the scam as Raza Ali had taken the money and then returned it to the NAB. The lawyer pointed out that the court had already released Raza Ali on bail in the case. He submitted that his client had been wrongfully implicated in the case as he had nothing to do with the deal.
