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PESHAWAR: Administrative Judge of the Special Accountability Courts in Peshawar, Muhammad Zafar, on Wednesday approved a plea bargain request filed by contractor Muhammad Ayub, the principal accused in the Kohistan mega corruption scandal, for an amount of Rs3.86 billion. After the completion of legal formalities, the court ordered the release of the accused.
The court ratified the plea bargain request submitted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The plea bargain includes a house previously sold by Senator Azam Swati.
During the proceedings, Deputy Prosecutor General Muhammad Ali appeared on behalf of NAB, while Barrister Haseeb Pirzada represented the accused. The court was informed that NAB had arrested Muhammad Ayub, who was in custody at the Central Jail Peshawar. The accused submitted a plea bargain offer of Rs3.86 billion to NAB.
It was stated that after formal approval by the Director General NAB, the request was forwarded to the NAB chairman, who also granted the approval. The matter was then presented before the court for final ratification. The prosecution informed the court that the accused had provided various properties, vehicles and cash as security for the plea bargain.
Property owners from different locations also appeared in court, expressing their willingness to submit their properties as collateral voluntarily.
The court was told that NAB had already approved the plea bargain requests of several other accused in the case, and since the recovery mechanism had been finalised and all necessary arrangements completed, the court should ratify Ayub’s plea bargain. Accepting NAB’s request, the court formally approved the plea bargain.
According to NAB, the accused filed the plea bargain under Section 25(b) of the NAB Ordinance, 1999. The agreement includes multiple properties, plots and a Land Cruiser registered in the accused’s name.
