ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Thursday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) the authority to remand former provincial minister Aleem Khan in custody for nine days.
A day earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader Khan — who is also known as one of the party’s major financiers — had been arrested by the watchdog for owning assets beyond his known sources of income and assets.
The PTI leader will be part of probes to investigate his involvement in the offshore company Hexam Investment Overseas Ltd, the Park View Housing Society, River Age Housing Society, and Multan Road. Shortly after his arrest on Wednesday, Khan had resigned from his post as senior minister for Punjab.
A while later, NAB released a statement saying that the former minister was arrested in light of the Panama scandal investigation, and that he had “established multiple companies with the purpose of real estate business and invested millions of rupees”.
“He [Khan] bought more than 900 kanals land in different mauzas of Lahore in the name of his company M/s A&A Pvt Ltd, and also paid advance for [an] additional 600 kanals of land [that] he could not account for the sources of the said investments,” the statement added.
The bureau accused Khan of misusing his authority as a member of the Punjab Assembly and Minister for Information Technology by indulging in corrupt practices when he served as secretary for the Parkview Housing Society project.
According to NAB, Khan has also accumulated assets beyond his means in the UK and the UAE. “Said offshore companies acquired assets of extensive value which are beyond known sources of income of the accused,” the statement added.
It stated that it was necessary to arrest the minister in order to unearth any evidence he may have as “it is likely that [the] accused may tamper with the prosecution evidence through coercion, criminal inducement, and criminal intimidation.”
The PTI leader will be remanded in custody until February 15.
NAB secures nine-day remand for PTI’s Aleem Khan
NAB secures nine-day remand for PTI’s Aleem Khan
- Custody will end on February 15
- Had resigned from his post of senior Punjab minister following the arrest
At least 13 civilians killed in Pakistan strikes in Afghanistan, UN says
- Pakistan said it launched the strikes after blaming recent suicide attacks on militants operating from Afghan territory
- The reported toll adds to fears of a renewed cycle of retaliation between the neighbors, threatening a fragile ceasefire
ISLAMABAD/KABUL: At least 13 civilians were killed and seven injured in Pakistani airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, the United Nations said on Monday, as cross-border tensions escalated following a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan.
The reported toll adds to fears of a renewed cycle of retaliation between the neighbors, threatening a fragile ceasefire along their 2,600-km (1,600-mile) frontier and further straining ties as both sides trade blame over militant violence.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had received “credible reports” that overnight Pakistani airstrikes on February 21–22 killed at least 13 civilians and injured seven in the Behsud and Khogyani districts of Nangarhar province.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid earlier reported dozens killed or wounded in the strikes, which also hit locations in Paktika province. Reuters could not independently verify the reported toll.
Pakistan said it launched the strikes after blaming recent suicide attacks, including during Ramadan, on militants operating from Afghan territory.
Pakistan’s information ministry in a post on X said the “intelligence-based” operation struck seven camps of the Pakistani Taliban and Daesh (Islamic State) Khorasan Province and that it had “conclusive evidence” the militant assaults on Pakistan were directed by “Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”
Kabul has repeatedly denied allowing militants to use Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan.
The strikes took place days after Kabul released three Pakistani soldiers in a Saudi-mediated exchange aimed at easing months of tensions along the border.
Afghanistan’s defense ministry condemned the strikes and called them a violation of sovereignty and international law, saying an “appropriate and measured response will be taken at a suitable time.” The Afghan foreign ministry said it had summoned Pakistan’s ambassador.
In a statement on the February 21-22 strikes, Afghanistan’s education ministry said eight school students; five boys and three girls, were killed in Behsud in Nangarhar province, and one madrasa student injured in Barmal in Paktika province, adding that dozens of other civilians were killed or wounded and educational centers destroyed. Reuters could not independently verify the information.
The latest strikes follow months of clashes and repeated border closures that have disrupted trade and movement along the rugged frontier.
