LAHORE: The Punjab Anti Corruption Establishment (ACE) on Tuesday summoned the principal secretary to former chief minister Usman Buzdar for interrogation on July 6 (today).

According to an ACE official, former CM Buzdar`s principal secretary Tahir Khursheed alias TK was accused of taking bribes of millions of rupees in several public projects.

He said TK was also involved in getting bribes in public development programmes and also getting money in transfer and posting of dif ferent high-ranking posts.

The ACE official said TK was also involved in taking millions of rupees bribe in approving different road tenders. TK is facing allegations of receiving millions of rupees bribe for giving additional funds in the Communication and Works Department chief engineer Waseem Tariq.

Waseem Tariq was arrested on charges of receiving Rs9.4 million bribe and said to be the `frontman` of former chief minister Usman Buzdar`s principal secretary Tahir Khursheed, who had received Rs9.4m as bribe from a contractor.

The ACE was conducting an investigation against the suspect in getting bribes in other contracts and a case has been registered against him.

Earlier, the ACE also summoned a brother of former prime minister Imran Khan`s wife Bushra Bibi and 18 others for `illegally occupying state land` in Depalpur.

Bushra Bibi`s brother Ahmed Mujtaba and 18 others were called to appear in a hearing at ACE Sahiwal office on July 6 (today) for investigation into their alleged involvement in a corruption scandal related to state land.

Last week, the ACE booked Farhat Shahzadi also known as Farah Khan, a close friend of Bushra Bibi, and her mother and arrested a former acting CEO of the Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) and Special Economic Zone committee secretary in a case of illegal allot-ment of two plots, measuring 10 acres, to a company owned by Farah.

According to the FIR, a probe was initiated into the allegations of illegal allotment of plots to M/s AI-Muez Dairy & Foods (Pvt) Limited with the connivance of officials of FIEDMC.

REFERENCES ADJOURNED: Hearings of two references against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister of Punjab Hamza Shehbaz were adjourned on Tuesday due to unavailability of the judge of an accountability court.

Shehbaz and Hamza also skipped the hearings and their lawyers filed applications for one-time exemption from personal appearance on account of unavoidable official engagement.

A duty judge allowed the applications and simply put off the hearing till July 16 as regular Presiding Judge Sajid Ali Awan was on leave.

The court previously granted permanent exemption to PM Shehbaz from personal appearance in the reference of Ramzan Sugar Mills. He was due to attend hearingof Punjab Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference.

His application for the permanent exemption from appearance in the housing scheme`s reference is also pending with the court.

In the mills reference, the NAB alleged that Shehbaz being chief minister and his son Hamza with the abetment and connivance of each other caused a loss of Rs213 million to national exchequerby committing the offence of misuse of authority.

It said Shehbaz had issued a directive for the construction of a drain in district Chiniot primarily for the use of Ramzan Sugar Mills owned by his sonsHamza and Suleman.

The Ashiana reference alleged that Shehbaz and other accused persons caused a huge loss to national exchequer by awarding the contract of the housing scheme to a company without bidding.

Former principal secretary to the prime minister Fawad Hassan Fawad and former head of Lahore Development Authority Ahad Khan Cheema are also accused in this reference.