LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of a reference filed against former PML-N MPA Sohail Zia Butt and directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a supplementary reference by the next date of hearing.
NAB filed a reference against Butt in 2001. The reference alleged that Butt embezzled Rs 2 million in the purchase of “Ahmad Mansion” for the National Industrial Co-operative Corporation. The court had declared Butt an absconder and had passed an ex-parte sentence of three years imprisonment under section 31-A of the NAB ordinance in June. His conviction was later suspended by the high court after his arrest in August.
Qatar airlines case
adjourned: A consumer count on Wednesday adjourned till January 5, the hearing of a case filed against Qatar Airline for the recovery of air fare and damages. The case was filed by a handicap citizen, who along with his wife and children had been allowed to travel to “Ecuador” without visas by the Qatar airline. The court had set the case for arbitration on Wednesday, but the case was adjourned further since the representatives of Qatar airlines did not appear.
The petitioner, Imran Ali, submitting that he planned to travel to Quito with his wife and two sons, Shayan Ali and Shaheera Ali. He therefore purchased 4 return tickets from Qatar Airlines through a travel agent. According to the flight schedule, they were to travel form Lahore to Doha to Sao Paulo to Lima from where they were to travel to their final destination, Quito.
When the family reached Sao Paulo Airport (Brazil), they tried to board the connecting flight of Trans American Continental Airline, to Lima and Ecuador, but were not allowed to do so on the grounds of a notification issued by the Government of Ecuador whereby citizens of certain countries including Pakistan, required a visa to travel to the country since September 3, 2010. The petition states that Qatar airlines is legally obligated to check the documents of all its passengers before issuing boarding passes.
The petitioners were forced by the staff of Qatar Airlines to board a flight to Qatar. When the flight landed at Doha Airport, the petitioners were detained and their documents were confiscated. They were made to wait at the airport for almost 22 hours before they were made to board a plane to Lahore.
