News @ 3 - 10th March 2018

LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Saturday directed Federal Minister for Railway Khawaja Saad Rafique to submit an affidavit, proving that he doesn’t have any role in the Paragon City housing scheme.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, was hearing a case pertaining to Paragon City at the apex court’s Lahore registry.

The minister appeared before the bench, stating that while he didn’t have any connection with the Paragon City, his voters and supporters were shareholders in the project.

He said he had become tired of hearing such allegations.

The chief justice directed him to swear an affidavit that he had no connection with the housing scheme whatsoever.

At the previous hearing, the chief justice asked the federal minister to appear in person on next hearing to explain his connection with the housing project.

He observed that the PML-N leader was also in the record of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) in connection with its project.

The chief justice said there was an impression that the minister owned the housing society and therefore, summoned him to clear his position.

On February 02, a team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) raided the offices of Paragon City and took important record and laptops into its custody in connection with a probe into Ashiana Housing Scheme.

The raid came in the wake of the arrest of Ahad Cheema, former director general Lahore Development Authority, in Ashiana Housing Scheme scam.

The bureau has launched a probe against Cheema for causing a loss of Rs 455 million to the national exchequer by awarding contracts on the basis of favoritism.