Court extends judicial remand of accused in Chiniot iron ore mining case

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LAHORE: A Lahore accountability court on Friday extended the judicial remand of three accused persons for 14 days in the Chinot mining contract case

Accountability court judge Ameer Muhammad Khan presided over the hearing wherein the lawyer of former Punjab minister for forestry, wildlife, and fisheries, submitted his plea for exemption from personal appearance, which the court accepted.

During the hearing, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) lawyer said that the accused persons caused major losses to the national exchequer since they awarded Chiniot iron tender to their favoured company despite a contract worth billions for extracting mineral resources.

NAB sought an extension in remand of the accused persons which was later accepted by the accountability court. Judge Ameer Muhammad Khan approved an extension of the judicial remand for 14 days.

The hearing was adjourned till November 15.

It is pertinent to mention here that Sibtain Khan was released after furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs5 million with two sureties over the orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on September 28.

Sibtain Khan was released after the issuance of ‘robkar [mandamus]’ by an accountability court in Lahore following the acceptance of his post-arrest bail plea in LHC under Article 199.

Sibtain Khan had resigned from his ministry after being arrested on Friday by NAB in relation to corruption charges against him.

The PTI leader was alleged to have been involved in handing out illegal tenders in his ministry.