Court rejects Fawad’s plea for selling Pindi shopping plaza

An accountability court on Thursday dismissed an application moved by the former bureaucrat and ex-principal secretary to Prime Minister Fawad Hassan Fawad seeking permission to sell his Shopping Plaza worth billions of rupees located at Rawalpindi.

Fawad’s counsel argued before the court that since he was granted bail in assets beyond means reference he should be permitted to sell his properties to fulfill his financial obligations.

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National accountability bureau opposed the petition and stated that the said property was mentioned as part of crime proceeds, whereas, NAB Lahore had filed an assets beyond means Reference in accountability court in March 2019.

The bureau further argued that accused Fawad Hassan Fawad had entered into an agreement to sell the Plaza for Rs 9.25 billion and moved the court in December 2021 seeking permission to materialize the deal.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the accountability court dismissed the application to sell the Plaza.

Fawad served on different posts in federal and Punjab as well during the previous government of PML-N till the NAB arrested him on July 5, 2018 initially in Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing scam.

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He remained behind the bars for almost 19 months. The LHC had granted him bail in assets beyond means case in January 2020 while he was released on bail in the housing scheme case on Feb14, 2019. PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif is also his co-accused in the housing scheme case.