Lahore (Staff Report): An accountability court on Tuesday extended the judicial remand of former senior minister of the Punjab Aleem Khan till April 11.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader was presented before the court and requested to extend his judicial remand.
During the hearing, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor informed the court that investigation is still going on and some more time is required to complete it. The prosecutor told the court that reference against the former senior minister will be filed once the investigation is completed.
The court then ordered that Khan be presented before the court on April 11.
During the last hearing, Khan's counsel maintained that NAB had detained his client for many days, yet no reference had been registered against him.
The NAB prosecutor responded that the reference was being prepared, and would be filed as soon as it was ready.
The court then ordered that Aleem be presented before court on April 2 and extended his judicial remand by 14 days.
On March 5, the court, after rejecting NAB’s request for extension of Aleem’s physical remand, had sent the former Punjab minister to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in a case pertaining to his offshore companies and alleged possession of assets beyond his known sources of income.
The accountability court had also directed NAB officials to expedite the filing of a reference.
On February 6, NAB Lahore arrested Aleem Khan as he was unable to satisfy the anti-graft body about the money trail for his assets.
Aleem Khan is facing two cases including assets beyond known sources of income and holding an offshore company.
According to NAB’s spokesperson, Aleem misused his authority as a lawmaker for his Parkview Housing Society. Aleem also has assets beyond his means in Pakistan and overseas.
The former Punjab minister is further accused of forming A and A Company to acquire 1,500 Kanals in Lahore and its outskirts. The accountability bureau spokesperson said Aleem did not provide a satisfactory response on the acquisition of this land.
The NAB stated that during his 2005 and 2006 visit to UAE and UK, Aleem Khan made several offshore companies.
Soon after his arrest, Aleem resigned from the post of Punjab local government minister and sent his resignation to the provincial chief minister.