An accountability court on Friday acquitted Ahad Khan Cheema, the special assistant to caretaker prime minister, in assets beyond means reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Accountability Court Judge Ali Zulqarnain allowed the acquittal application of Ahad Khan Cheema while announcing the reserved verdict. The court had reserved its verdict on acquittal application after hearing detailed arguments of the NAB prosecutor and the defence counsel, earlier in the day. Ahad Khan Cheema also appeared before the court during the proceedings. Earlier, on November 27, in a supplementary report, the NAB informed the court that Ahad Cheemas assets were consistent with his known income, asserting that properties held by alleged benamidars/relatives were not his. The properties owned by the alleged benamidars/relatives of Ahad Cheema did not belong to him as they (benamidars) acquired the assets with their own independent and legitimate sources, it added. The report further indicated that assets attributed to Ahad Cheema aligned with his income and the bureau verified the record provided by him and found it to be accurate. The NAB report stated that, based on evidence, the case under NAO, 1999, was not substantiated. Ahad Khan Cheema had also served as Lahore Development Authority director general during the PML-N government in Punjab. The bureau had arrested Ahad Khan Cheema in 2018 when he appeared before a joint investigation team in connection with the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme case. Later, the bureau initiated assets beyond means and other inquiries against him. However, Ahad Cheema obtained bail in three cases including assets beyond means in 2021.
