KARACHI: An accountability court adjourned on Wednesday the hearing of a corruption reference against an alleged hitman after his counsel informed the court that an application of plea bargain was still pending with the National Accountability Bureau.

Mohammed Minhaj Qazi, alias Asad, along with his partners Shoaib Naeem, Noreen Shoaib, Zeenat Naeem and Sohail Ilyas, has been booked for allegedly committing fraud in the name of a housing scheme off the Northern Bypass. The reference was fixed before an accountability court on Wednesday for evidence of prosecution witnesses.

However, the defence sought adjournment on the grounds that a plea bargain application of the accused was pending. The court adjourned the hearing till Sept 7. The counsel submitted that the accused had sent a plea bargain application to the NAB and the reply was still awaited.

According to the reference, the project, Areesha City, was fraudulently initiated a few years ago in Gadap Town by the accused and they allegedlylooted around Rs320 million from the public.

The Rangers detained Minhaj last year for his alleged involvement in terrorism. The suspect is also facing trial before an antiterrorism court in a case pertaining to the murder of the then managing director of the Karachi Electric Supply Company, Shahid Hamid, his driver, and a guard in the Defence Housing Authority in 1997.