IHC grants pre-arrest bail to ex-PTA employees in 4G auction case.

ISLAMABAD -- The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday granted pre-arrest bail to two former members of the Pakistan TelecommuniAcation Authority (PTA) in a case relating to the auction of fourth generation of broadband cellular network technology (4G).

An IHC division bench, comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, observed that the replies of the National Accountability Bureau and the federal government were inconsistent with each other and perusal of NAB's reply showed that the bureau had planned to drag Ishaq Dar and Anusha Rehman in the case.

Earlier, the court had granted pre-arrest interim bail to petitioners Abdul Samad Khan and Amjad Khan in the case.

When the court inquired whether the incumbent PTA chairman was also an accused in this case as he had renewed the licence in 2019, the investigation officer replied that in case NAB found any incriminating evidence, the PTA chairman would surely be arrested.

'As per NAB's case, the beneficiary of the 4G auction is Warid cellular network. Do you know who owns this company and can NAB issue a notice to them?' Justice Minallah asked the investigation officer.

The investigation officer replied that the auction had caused a loss of Rs50 billion to the national exchequer and they were taking action on the basis of...