An accountability court in Lahore dismissed the case against Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique due to a lack of jurisdiction on Wednesday and forwarded it to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
After hearing arguments on the acquittal requests made by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders in the Paragon Housing Society case, the judge read the judgment that had been reserved earlier in the day.
The National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) amendment, the court noted, prevented it from acting on such references.
Khawaja brothers’ attorney Amjad Parvez maintained throughout the court that his clients had no ownership interests in the housing society and were not even members.
He requested that the court acquit them, claiming that the NAB had failed to provide any tangible proof against them in the case.
The NAB filed a reference in May 2019 alleging that the siblings Umar Zia, Nadeem Zia, and Farhan Ali defrauded the public out of Rs590 million in the housing society scam.
