Daily Times

A duty judge on Sunday handed over former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry to the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) on a one-day physical remand in a fraud case.

The former federal minister will now be presented by an anti-corruption court on Monday, December 11.

The counsel for ACE sought a five-day physical remand and alleged that Fawad, through his frontman Fouq Sherbaz, was paid Rs3.5 million for providing a no-objection certificate (NOC) by a private housing scheme and the amount needs to be recovered. The former minister was brought before the duty judge in an armoured vehicle from Adila jail.

Fawad’s counsel, Faisal Chaudhry, contended that the case was false and was driven by political motives.He argued that the housing society owners have no complaints, and false charges are being fabricated without valid reasons. He further prayed that Fawad be discharged from the case and be granted bail. During his appearance, Fawad criticized the fabrication of false cases and said “no press conference has been held to address these issues.”

Previously sources told the media that the alleged involvement of other public and private officials will be determined during the investigation. The case was registered after legal action was approved as a result of an inquiry on the source report. According to the contents of the First Information Report (FIR), Fouq Sherbaz is a prominent figure in corruption and illegal activities and he is the cousin of former federal minister Fawad Chaudhary.

ACE Rawalpindi launched a probe into the issue in April 2023. Evidence about the alleged misuse of power by Fouq Sherbaz and Fawad and taking more than Rs10 million from the administration of the private housing society emerged during the inquiry. The inquiry officer recommended filing a case against the accused.

As a result of the findings, ACE Rawalpindi registered a case against the accused and formed teams for their arrest.