Mushtaq Raisani, Khalid Langove indicted in Balochistan mega corruption case

QUETTA: Balochistan’s former finance secretary Mushtaq Raisani and former adviser to chief minister Balochistan for finance Mir Khalid Langove were indicted in the mega corruption scandal in Balochistan Thursday.

In the verdict announced by an accountability court, all five individuals accused of corruption including former secretary local government Abdul Basit, former secretary local board Faisal Jamal, and contractor Suhail Majeed were found guilty.

The court rejected appeals filed by the indicted individuals’ respective legal counsels.

Contractor and frontman of Langove, Suhail Majeed informed the court that he approached the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for a plea bargain. The court noted that any such documents had not been received.

All accused individuals except Langove were in attendance at the hearing in Quetta. Raisani was unable to be in the courtroom due to his ailment. Judge Abdul Majeed Nasar met the former advisor finance in an ambulance parked in the court’s premises.

Law enforcement agencies recovered PKR 650 million in cash and jewellery in a raid conducted at Raeesani's residence in May last year. The authorities uncovered evidence indicating the former secretary finance owned multiple residential properties in Defence Housing Authority, Karachi.

The former secretary local government Hafiz Abdul Basit and former secretary local board Faisal Jamal were granted temporary bail.   

The court ordered NAB to ensure attendance of all five individuals in the next hearing.

The court postponed the corruption case until March 22.