Court Adjourns Hearing Of Paragon Reference Till July 20

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Jun, 2021 ) :An accountability court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of Paragon City reference against former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique till July 20.

Earlier, Khawaja Salman Rafique appeared before a duty judge who conducted the reference proceedings due to transfer of the judge concerned.

A counsel on behalf of Khawaja Saad Rafique requested the court to grant a one-time exemption from personal appearance to his client while submitting an application for the purpose. He apprised the court that his client could not appear due to his engagements in Islamabad.

At this, the court allowed the exemption application and adjourned further hearing till July 20.

It is pertinent to mention here that the court had recorded statements of 9 prosecution witnesses yet, whereas the total number of witnesses is 130.

The NAB had alleged that Khawaja brothers, through their benamidars and with the abetment of former MPA Qaiser Amin Butt and Nadeem Zia, established a housing project in the name of Air Avenue, which was later converted into Paragon City without lawful process. It accused the former railways minister and his brother of receiving monetary benefits of Rs 58 millionand 39 million, respectively, from Paragon City through proxy firms under the grab ofconsultancy services.