KARACHI: (DNA) –  An accountability court on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Muttahida Qaumi Move­ment-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Babar Ghauri in a case related to illegal appointments in the Karachi Port Trust (KPT).

The ex-minister is facing charges of Rs2.8 billion corruption in the KPT.

According to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), eight men, including Ghauri, in connivance with each other had illegally regularised 940 employees of KPT, causing Rs2.8bn loss to the national exchequer.

After issuance of the warrants, the hearing of the case was adjourned till October 17.

NAB had first taken this case to the Sindh High Court which had directed that a reference on the matter be filed in the accountability court by August 8.

In December 2017, Babar Ghauri had announced to quit from the Altaf Hussain-led MQM.

At the time of resignation, he said that he was resigning from the MQM-L for personal reasons. He explained that he was not doing so as part of any deal or under any duress, adding that he had decided not to join any other political party, and would stay away from politics for the time being.