LAHORE - An accountability court on Wednesday extended until August 9 the judicial remand of former Punjab minister Sibtain Khan and three others in Chiniot mining contract case. Besides the former provincial minister, former secretary Mines and Minerals Department Imtiaz Ahmed, former manager operations and planning Muhammad Aslam, and former chief inspector mines Punjab Abdul Sattar were produced before Special Judge Accountability Court Ameer Muhammad Khan conducted the proceedings on the expiry of their remand term.
Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) prosecutor said the investigation report was being finalised and it would soon be submitted. He further said that the reference had not yet been approved. The court then ordered the NAB official to submit a complete investigation report, extended the judicial remand of the accused by adjourning the matter till August 9 It is pertinent to mention here that Sibtain Khan resigned from his office as provincial minister for Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife after being arrested by the bureau on June 15.
Sibtain Khan was arrested on charges of illegally awarding a multi-billion-dollar contract to an alleged fake company in 2007. As a provincial minister for mines and minerals at that time, he had awarded a contract for extracting minerals in Chiniot district.
