LAHORE - A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday accepted bail application of former DG haj Rao Shakeel, accused of embezzling millions of rupees in hiring residencies for haj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.
The division bench comprised Justice Maqbool Mahmood Bajwa and Justice Aalia Neelum granted bail to Rao Shakeel with directions to submit surety bond of Rs 500,000.
As proceedings started, the petitioner counsel argued that despite lapse of three years, NAB authorities were unsuccessful in filing a reference against the accused. He said he was released once by the SC order but the NAB authorities again took him in their custody.
Terming his detention as illegal, the petitioner submitted that political pressure was a reason behind allegations of corruption leveled against him. He pleaded the court to accept the bail plea of the accused and order the authorities concerned to release him. Accepting his plea, the court ordered to release the accused.
It is pertinent to mention here that Rao Shakeel and Raja Aftabul Islam were indicted by court under sections 109, 409, 420, 468, 471 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and 5 (2) 1947 of Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) for fraud, cheating, misuse of authority and causing loss to the national exchequer and the public at large by hiring residences in Saudi Arabia. The FIA probed the matter which also provoked Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani into axing two federal ministers from the cabinet three days back.