The accountability court judge directed the NAB officials to complete their investigation as soon as possible.
ISLAMABAD: (Urdu Point/Pakistan Point News-Jan 13th, 2020) A National Accountability Court extended till January 20 the physical remand of PML-N leader and Former Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal in Sport City case here on Monday.
The NAB officials produced Ahsan Iqbal before the court amid tight security and pleaded the court for further remand of Ahsan Iqbal to investigate alleged corruption in Narowal Sports Complex. The court accepted the plea and allowed seven-day extension in physical remand of Ahsan Iqbal. The judge directed the NAB officials to conclude the investigation as early as possible.
On previous hearing, the NAB officials got 13-day physical remand of PML-N senior leader and former Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal before a court over charges of corruption in Narowal sports Complex to seek his physical remand.
According to the sources, the officials of the anti-graft body produced him before the court amid tight security arrangments and sought 14-day physical remand of Ahsan Iqbal. Strict security arrangements were made during his production before the court. The roads leading to the accountability courts complex were blocked with barricades and the traffic was diverted to other routes. Now he will be produced again on January 6, 2020.
"I accept the punishment if I am being punished just for speaking out in favor of death sentence handed over to General Musharraf," said Ahsan Iqbal during his appearance before the court.
During the hearing, the prosecutor produced in writing the reasons for which Ahsan Iqbal was taken into custody.
The NAB alleged that Iqbal had illegally initiated a project of Rs 3 billion in Narowal; causing a loss worth billions to the national exchequer. It said that Narowal Sports City was constructed at a cost of approximately Rs6 billion, which was a violation of rules and had incurred heavy losses to the national exchequer.
Ahsan Iqbal who is general secretary of PML-N was arrested on Dec 23—when he appeared before the NAB officials in Rawalpindi to explain them that he was innocent.
However, Ahsan Iqbal failed to convince the NAB officials on which they took him into custody.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Spokesperson Maryam Aurengzeb strongly condemned arrest of party’s senior leader Ahsan Iqbal, suggesting that Prime Minister Imran Khan should be booked under Article 6 of the Constitution.
“PML-N will never come under pressure despite Ahsan Iqbal’s arrest,” said Maryam Aurengzeb while talking to the reporters here on Monday.
Maryam Aurengzeb said that Ahsan Iqbal continued to point out failures of the ruling PTI and did not go back from his stance and it was his fault that he was taken into custody by the NAB officials today. She said that Imran Khan himself is involved in money laundering but no action was being taken against him.
“Imran Khan is taking foreign funding and destroying Pakistan,” she said while questioning the recent funding amount provided by the World Bank to the government. The country has gone under huge debt and the inflation is record high, she added.
She also came hard upon the PTI government saying that what about the holes in Peshawar Metro track.
“The government is simply doing this to cover its failure,” she further. Ahsan Iqbal went through the surgery just three days ago, she added.
