PESHAWAR: Former Director General (DG) Health Dr. Shaukat Ali, allegedly involved in the billion-rupee medicine and surgical equipment corruption scandal, was produced before the court again after his physical remand expired.
Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Hameed Mughal heard the petition, where NAB Senior Investigation Officer SP Inayatullah Khan requested for the accused’s further remand.
During the hearing, the NAB prosecution told the court that accused Dr. Shaukat Ali withdrew billions of rupees from the government treasury in the name of purchasing medicines and surgical items during his tenure, but no medicines were found on the ground.
According to the investigation officer, the accused is accused of embezzling a total of Rs 3.6 billion from the government treasury and despite a 7-day initial remand, the investigation has not been completed yet, which requires more time.
On the other hand, the accused’s lawyer denied the allegations and took the stand that his client is innocent and NAB does not have any solid evidence regarding corruption, so the request for further physical remand should be rejected. However, after hearing the arguments of both sides, the court handed over Dr. Shaukat Ali to NAB on a further 7-day physical remand and ordered that the accused be produced before the court again after completing the investigation.
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