{
  "id": 16286710,
  "title": "Court approves Rs20m plea bargain of contractor in Kohistan graft case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/court-approves-rs20m-plea-bargain-of-contractor-in-kohistan-graft-case",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-24T04:56:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2039322/court-approves-rs20m-plea-bargain-of-contractor-in-kohistan-graft-case"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "PESHAWAR: An accountability court in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa approved a Rs20 million plea bargain for a contractor implicated in a massive embezzlement case involving funds from the Upper Kohistan district accounts office. Judge Mohammad Zafar released Saifullah, a private contractor, from custody if he was not required for any other case. The judge noted the accused had willingly entered the plea bargain agreement with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) without coercion or pressure. The plea bargain, signed on September 11, 2026, involved the accused paying the full liability through two pay orders. Saifullah, a resident of Dasu, admitted to operating an illegal company, Kohistan and Company, which fraudulently utilized its bank account. NAB special prosecutor Manik Shah and investigation officer SP Inayatullah presented the case before the court, detailing the involvement of other officials from various departments in the alleged conspiracy. The NAB had received a report on April 8, 2025, revealing the financial scandal and implicating a network of government officials, bank employees, and private contractors. Since the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter of the NAB arrested 40 accused in the case, claiming it uncovered a conspiracy exploiting systemic weaknesses and violating accounting policies.",
  "summary": "PESHAWAR: An accountability court here on Friday approved the Rs20 million plea bargain of an accused in the high-profile case involving the alleged embezzlement of over Rs37 billion from the bank accounts of the Upper Kohistan district accounts office. Judge Mohammad Zafar ordered that accused Saifullah, a private contractor, be released if his custody was not required in any other case. He…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}