LAHORE: The Chiniot mineral resources reference against Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan and others was returned by an accountability court on Thursday.
Accountability Judge Zubair Shehzad stated in a four-page written decision that because the accused was charged with corruption for less than 500 million rupees, the case was out of the jurisdiction under the NAB amended law and the court could not proceed further in this reference.
“The court has decided to refer the matter back to the Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), who should refer the matter to a relevant forum,” the decision stated.
According to the decision, “all accused will be released on bail and will appear before the relevant forum on summons.”
“The court’s jurisdiction under the amended NAB law has been challenged by Speaker Sibtain Khan and co-accused.” “The accused have argued that repeating the investigation would be a violation of the amended law,” the decision stated.
The defendants in the case were accused of illegally awarding the Chiniot mineral deposits contract to their preferred company.
Pavan Manzoor is an experienced content writer , editor and social media handler along with a track record of youth-oriented activities in Pakistan and abroad. She was selected as a fully-funded delegate as a leadership fellow in Turkey. She also led a team of 5 volunteers at the week-long Young Professionals Fellowship in Maldives. She is also a member of the Youth Standing Committee on Higher Education.
