–Info minister says former CJP heard cases pertaining to housing society himself and granted relief to owners
ISLAMABAD: Former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s son-in-law, Murtaza Amjad , was arrested in Dubai on Wednesday in connection with the Eden Housing Society scam.
“The ex-CJP’s son-in-law has been arrested in connection to a scam pertaining to a private housing scheme, Eden Housing,” Information Minister Fawad Chauhdry told reporters here.
“We have made a big breakthrough in the Eden Housing scam,” he asserted, while adding that Murtaza was arrested by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials from Dubai and that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had issued his arrest warrants.
The information minister further claimed that the father-in-law of the ex-CJP’s daughter is the owner of the housing scheme which is why “Iftikhar Chaudhry had heard the cases pertaining to the housing scheme himself and granted them relief”.
“200 to 300 families were affected by the scam and thousands of people invested their hard-earned money in it but were cheated of it,” Chaudhry added.
He further said, “The ex-CJP’s son, Arsalan Iftikhar, his daughter and his son-in-law’s father are also accused in the case.”
The victims of the scam held a demonstration outside Prime Minister Imran Khan’s residence in Lahore on Sunday, demanding that the PTI government bring Eden Housing group owner Dr Amjad and others back from Canada and recover the looted money from them or ensure the group completed the project and handed them over the houses and plots promised to them.
Amjad and his two sons fled to Canada in April this year as their names were not placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) even as NAB had asked the Interior Ministry to do so.
The Eden group holds property worth approximately Rs 20 billion, according to NAB.
Vowing that all accused in the case will be arrested soon, the information minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a final report in the case within 24 hours.
In June, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had written a letter to NAB seeking an investigation against the former chief justice and his family for allegedly defrauding people of billions in Eden Housing scheme in Lahore.
