Ex-PSM chairman, five others acquitted in canteen contracts case.

KARACHI -- An accountability court on Saturday acquitted former Pakistan Steel Mills chairman Moeen Aftab Sheikh and five others in a case pertaining to Rs61 million corruption in the award of canteen contracts in 2008-09.

Mr Sheikh, then principal executive officer retired Brigadier Abdul Qayyum, then deputy general manager Mohammad Farooq, then deputy GM Imtiaz-ul-Haq, then deputy manager Asghar Ali, then deputy GM Mohammad Atique Khan along with then chairman of the food committee Najamuddin Saho and three contractors were charged with awarding canteens' contracts at exorbitant rates.

On Saturday, Judge Suresh Kumar of the Accountability Court-IV pronounced his verdict.

The judge noted that the prosecution failed to prove its case against six accused persons. Therefore, he exonerated them by extending them the benefit of the doubt.

Prosecution officials said that accused Najamuddin Saho and Asghar Ali had died during the trial while private contractor Ali Haider had made plea bargain with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Another contractor, Mohammad Atique, was previously acquitted by the court.

According to the prosecution, the Federal Investigation Agency had initially conducted an inquiry into the award of contracts for 19 canteens of the PSM for the year 2008-09 allegedly on very exorbitant...