Lahore (Staff Report): The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday filed a reference against Lahore Development Authority’s (LDA) former Ahad Cheema in Ashiana Housing case.
Cheema is accused of awarding a contract of the Ashiana-e-Iqbal housing project of approximately Rs14 billion to Lahore Casa Developers — a joint-venture which was ineligible for the contract — while serving as the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general.
Cheema was arrested on February 21 after the bureau detected illegalities and corruption worth billions in a deal between Paragon Housing Society and Punjab Land Development Company to construct the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Society.
On June 19, an accountability court in Lahore sent Cheema to jail after a 90-day physical remand.
On March 17, the Punjab government suspended Cheema from service for three months.
According to a notification issued by the Punjab government, Cheema’s suspension will start from the day he was arrested by the NAB and will last for three months.
Cheema, a grade-19 employee, was serving as the chief executive of Quaid-e-Azam Thermal Power Limited when he was arrested.
The anti-graft body also summoned former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif on July 5 in relation with the Punjab Power Development Company (PPDC) probe.
