Daily Times

A bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday granted bail to Ahad Cheema in the assets beyond means case.

The court ordered Ahad Cheema, former director general of Lahore Development Authority (LDA), to deposit two surety bonds of Rs1 million each with the court.

The court had earlier reserved its decision on the bail petition.

Earlier, Ahad Cheema’s counsel told the court that the statements of 63 witnesses have been recorded out of a total of 210 prosecution witnesses so far. “A supplementary reference has also been filed on 21 December, 2020”.

Ahad Cheema has already been granted bail in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing case, the counsel said. The lawyer pleaded to the bench for granting bail to his client over lingering court proceedings.

The NAB prosecutor asked the court to grant him some days to submit the reply over the matter. “We have forensic evidence that the accused was operating the account,” the prosecutor said. “The case was under hearing but the trial court’s judge was transferred,” the NAB lawyer said.

Earlier on January 9, an accountability court indicted Ahad Cheema in a supplementary reference in assets beyond means case.

According to the NAB, it had traced 22 properties, out of which 20 are in the name of Ahad Cheema and two are registered in the name of his family members. Cheema owns agricultural land measuring 188-kanal and 12-marla in village Behak Ahmad Yar, Hafizabad. In the same area, he owns 123 kanals and 19 marlas of land, out of which a piece of 10 kanals is registered in the name of his brother, Ahmad Saud Cheema. A plot, number 71, Street CCA-E, Block IB Employees Cooperative Housing Society Limited, Islamabad, is also owned by Ahad Cheema. However, during the course of investigation, it was revealed that Cheema owns properties worth millions.

The NAB filed a reference against Cheema in the Ashiana Housing scam and arrested him on charges of embezzlement in Ashiana Housing Scheme, misuse of his authority and illegal award of Ashiana-e-lqbal project contract worth Rs14 billion to Lahore CASA Developers, which was ineligible.