LHC suspends term of Seema Munawar

Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik on Thursday suspended the three-year jail sentence of late LHC Justice Munawer Elahi’s daughter and former Punjab additional advocate general, Seema Munawar, and ordered her release. An accountability court last week had convicted Seema for withdrawing her father’s pension worth Rs. 3,900,000 by declaring herself unmarried, while she was a divorcee. Justice Manzoor issued the order on petition of Seema, who submitted that she had filed an appeal against her conviction and had expectations of being exonerated. He said as her appeal so far could not be fixed and there was no expectation in the near future of it being fixed. She prayed the court to suspend her sentence in light of the supreme courts’ judgment which allows suspension of conviction in sentence of few years.
The accountability court had awarded a three-year jail term to Seema along with fine of Rs3,900,000. In case of default in payment of fine, the convict would face further six-months of imprisonment. issues notice to TCP, govt on sugar matter: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Azmat Saeed on Thursday issued notice for December 22 to the federal government and the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) on a plea against purchase of sugar at high rates for Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan (USCP). The application was filed in public interest by Ahmed Imran Ghazi through his counsel Azhar Siddique in pending petition on the sugar matter. The petitioner said that following a cabinet division decision, the government had been purchasing sugar at Rs 65 per kg through a tender by TCP, when the open market rate of the commodity was Rs 53. The petitioner added that the decision would cause a loss of Rs 2.5 billion to the national exchequer in the wake of purchase by USCP at higher rates and sale of the same at subsided rates.
NAB DISTRIBUTES RETRIEVED MONEY IN DOUBLE SHAH SCAM: Punjab National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday distributed 485.5 million rupees among 625 affectees of the Double Shah Scam, on International Anticorruption Day. The cheque distribution ceremony took place at NAB Complex Thokar Niaz Baig Multan Road, Lahore.
Punjab NAB Acting DG Gp Capt (r) Shamsher Ali distributed the cheques while advising the recipients against investing the money in illegal businesses in the greed of inflated profits in the future. The Double Shah Scam is one of the biggest financial frauds in the history of Pakistan, which originated in Wazirabad, district Gujranwala and Sambrial district Sialkot region during 2005-07. Investigation Wing-II Director Tariq Nadeem said another 360 million rupees would be paid to 650 affectees in the near future. So far, NAB has made 100 percent payment to 6,500 affectees, thus totalling disbursement to the tune of 1,576 million rupees to the affectees of Double Shah Scam.
SCAMMER HANDED TO NAB ON PHYSICAL REMAND: An accountability court on Thursday handed over LESCO employee Afzal Sharif to NAB on physical remand till December 22.
The accused had been arrested from Lahore airport upon his arrival from Saudi Arabia after performing Hajj.
Afzal Sharif is the co-accused of LESCO Chief Engineer Farrakh Ali Shah, SDO Manzoor Hussain and Line Superintendent Ghulam Sabir, involved in the misappropriation of materials causing losses of RS 4.87 rupees to the national exchequer. The court also extended the physical remand of Chief Engineer Farrakh Ali Shah, SDO Manzoor Hussain and Line Superintendent Ghulam Sabir till December 22.