ISLAMABAD: Former Attorney-General Malik Qayyum on Tuesday denied all allegations against him in the Haris Steel Mills scandal and said he will challenge the accusations in court.

Qayyum had his testimony recorded in the accountability court through a proxy.

Malik Qayyum alleged that such allegations were part of a concerted effort to defame him. Qayyum had been accused of receiving 20 million rupees as bribe.

Sharifuddin Pirzada, also accused of being paid 10 million rupees in bribe money, explained that he had charged $100,000 and three million rupees as professional fee. Pirzada said that he also charged 100,000 rupees to appear at every hearing and denied the charges of accepting bribes.

The federal minister for parliamentary affairs, Babar Awan, excused himself from appearing in court due to personal commitments. However, talking to the media in Islamabad, Awan alleged that the accountability court’s notification to summon him was illegal and the court had no jurisdiction in the matter. Babar Awan had been accused of receiving 35 billion rupees as bribe in the Haris Steel Mills scandal. — DawnNewsLINK