RAWALPINDI - An accountability court here on Wednesday formally indicted as many as 21 accused persons in the corruption reference of New Murree Golf City project involving Bahria Town and its owner Malik Riaz. Ejaz Ahmed, special judge Accountability Court – I, put off the hearing till June 15 after indicting the accused persons who pleaded not guilty and said they would contest the charges. The court has summoned prosecution witnesses for the next date of hearing.
Proclaimed Offenders
Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz, his son Ali Ahmed Riaz, Naseer Ahmed, and Jamal Mustafa have already been declared proclaimed offenders in the case. The indictment of the two absent accused, Ahmed Aziz Tarar and Javed, will be processed on the next hearing date.
Allegations in the Reference
According to the details, the reference involving Bahria Town Golf City project alleges that the BT possessed over 4,500 kanal land in different revenue estates of Murree, purchasing from 2006 to 2009. The BT, in connivance with then different government functionaries, changed the nature of the said land unlawfully and established the housing society. Further, the BT has allegedly encroached upon hundreds of kanals of land in Murree.
Loss to National Exchequer
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has alleged that the accused involved in the case have caused a loss worth Rs152 billion to the national exchequer.
List of Accused
The accused in the case include Malik Riaz, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, Mehboob Shaukat (director of Bahria Town), Muhammad Irfan Elahi (then DCO Rawalpindi), Jamal Mustafa Syed (then EDO-R Rawalpindi), Muhammad Asif Qureshi (then DO-R Rawalpindi), Ahmed Aziz Tarar (then TMO Murree), Amjad Saeed (then sub-registrar Murree), Adnan Bashir Kiyani (then Naib Tehsildar Murree), Abdul Salam (then TO Planning & Coordination Murree), Muhammad Naseer Ahmed Khan (then conservator of forest Rawalpindi), Sardar Fida Hussain (also then conservator forest Rawalpindi), Liaqat Hussain Jafri (then DFO Guzara Forest Division Rawalpindi), Raja Tariq Mehmood (also then DFO Guzara Forest Division Rawalpindi), Amjad Nawaz (then Range Forest Officer Guzara Division Rawalpindi), Raja Haroon ur Rasheed (also then Range Forest Officer Guzara Division Rawalpindi), Ishrat Nawaz and Tanveer Ahmed (both then patwaris in Murree), Malik Mumtaz (then Girdawar in Murree), M Naeem Satti (then patwari in Murree), M Khursheed Abbasi (then Girdawar in Murree), Malik Ghulam Mujhtaba (then naib tehsildar in Murree), Khalid Masood Satti (then Tehsildar Murree), Sheikh Waseem Ali Tabish (then tehsildar in Murree), Rama Nayab Khan (then tehsildar in Murree), M Javaid Gill (then Divisional Forest Officer Murree), and Bahria Town through its CEO and directors.
