LAHORE: An accountability court on Thursday acquitted former principal secretary to prime minister Fawad Hassan Fawad, his wife Rubab Hassan, his brother Waqar Hassan, and Dr Anjum Hassan in a Rs4.56 billion reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The court observed that the prosecution could not prove allegations of amassing assets beyond means and corruption against the accused and “therefore, they are being acquitted.”
Accountability Court Judge Uzma Akhtar Chughtai announced the verdict after hearing final arguments put forward by both the lawyers. Advocate Amjad Parvaiz advanced arguments on behalf of Fawad and his family, whereas a prosecutor submitted arguments on behalf of the bureau.
Fawad Hassan and his brother Waqar Hassan also appeared during the proceedings and got their attendance marked. Two different pleaders appeared on behalf of Rubab Hassan and Dr Anjum Hassan, who had obtained permanent exemption from personal appearance in the matter.
Fawad Hassan Fawad and his family members had filed the acquittal applications, saying that all charges leveled against them were baseless. They submitted that it was a bogus case and pleaded with the court to acquit them.
The bureau had alleged that the former principal secretary had accumulated assets beyond his known sources of income. It was alleged that he owned assets worth Rs 4.6 billion besides multiple ‘benami’ accounts.
It is pertinent to mention here that a Lahore High Court division bench had granted post-arrest bail to Fawad Hassan in the case, after he served one-and-a-half years in jail.
