Daily Times

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) summoned on Tuesday Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique over his alleged involvement in the Paragon Housing Society corruption scandal in Lahore.

The scam was brought to light last month after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry alleged that the minister had owned the housing scheme in 2014.

In a press conference, he had alleged that the whole country knew that the Paragon Housing Society belonged to Rafique, a claim the latter has repeatedly denied.

Rafique had also sent a legal notice to the PTI leader for levelling baseless allegations against him, demanding a compensation of Rs5 billion.

The national corruption watchdog had earlier questioned Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad relating to Ashiyana Housing Scheme.

The investigation led to the arrest of former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Ahad Khan Cheema and four others over charges of corruption through housing societies.

Last week, the national graft buster had also decided to verify multiple complaints of corruption received against the railways minister, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi and others.

According to a statement issued by the bureau, it will conduct complaint verification against the accused for “indulging” in corrupt practices while installing a modern computer-based interlocking system from Rohri to Tando Adam Railway Track.

The minister and others have been accused of corruption in the procurement of generators and other equipment also.

Published in Daily Times, March 21^th 2018.