Non-bailable arrest warrants for Farzana Raja issued
ISLAMABAD – An Accountability Court (AC) on Monday issued non-bailable arrest warrants against former chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Farzana Raja and directed to initiate a procedure to declare her as proclaimed offender on continuous disappearance. The court also instructed the authority concerned to block the CNIC of accused Farzana Raja and place her name on exit control list (ECL).
AC-III Judge Syed Asghar Ali heard the reference pertaining to corruption in funds of BISP filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
At the outset of hearing, the counsels for the co-accused said that the bureau should inform the bench that whether it had filed final or interim reference. They said that charges couldn’t be framed against the accused in an interim reference. The court remarked that the investigation into the case couldn’t be stopped at any stage in line of the directives of the top court. The court separated the case of Farzana Raja and fixed a new date for indictment of the co-accused.
The judge instructed all the accused to ensure their attendances on next date of hearing.
The NAB had filed reference against Farzana Raja and other accused in March last year. It alleged that the BISP under the head of accused awarded contracts to advertising agencies in 2009-10 and 2010-11 in violation of the Public Procurement Rules (PPR), 2004.
Article source: https://nation.com.pk/08-Jun-2021/non-bailable-arrest-warrants-for-farzana-raja-issued