An accountability court in Lahore has acquitted former bureaucrat and Advisor to Prime Minister Ahad Khan Cheema in assets beyond means reference, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
AC Judge Malik Ali Zulqarnain Awan pronounced the reserved verdict on Friday, accepting the acquittal plea of Ahad Cheema.
The National Accountability Beware (NAB) Lahore had filed a reference against Ahad Cheema in 2018 regarding assets beyond income.
The court ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove allegations against Ahad Cheema.
Ahad Cheema was present in the court when his lawyer Amjad Pervaiz submitted his arguments in support of the acquittal plea.
NAB Prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua also presented his arguments, saying the Bureau has no objection to Ahad Cheema’s acquittal.
The NAB report which was filed in the court says that Ahad Cheema’s all assets are in conformity with his income. Cheema’s alleged Benami companies bought properties from their personal income which does not provide grounds for framing a reference against Cheema, the report added.
The report said such properties of Benami companies cannot be linked to Ahad Cheema. Accounts of his relatives – Sadia Mansoor, Mansoor Ahmad and Nazia Ashraf – are not his Benami accounts, the report added.
According to the reinvestigation, the total income of Ahad Cheema is Rs213 million while expenditures are Rs131 million.
Reporter Jamaluddin Jamali