KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday set aside a ruling of an accountability court which acquitted former chairman of the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) Ayaz Khan Niazi in the mega land scam case.
A two-judge bench of the high court granted an appeal filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) challenging Niazi’s acquittal.
It directed the trial court to rehear the reference and take into account the market value of the property involved in the scam.
The accountability court had earlier exonerated the former NICL chairman from charges levelled against him for lack of evidence.
In August this year, the SHC granted bail to Ayaz Khan Niazi in a corruption case involving billions of rupees.
The petitioner’s lawyer contended that the suspect had already been granted bail in the ongoing inquiry in Lahore. He said NAB now wanted to arrest him in another reference filed in Karachi. He pleaded with the court to stop NAB from arresting him.
The bench granted Niazi bail against surety bonds worth Rs1 million. It restrained NAB from arresting Niazi.
According to the NAB reference, the suspect is accused of purchasing 10 acres of land in Korangi on excessive rates, causing a huge loss to the national exchequer.
