The Supreme Court strikes again. On Friday, the court moved for legal proceedings against former intelligence head and army chief for rigging the general elections of 1990, in order to prevent the Pakistan Peoples Party from winning. Judicial theatrics are yet to unfold in full swing as the country remains on the tenterhooks.
1990
Yunus Habib, then head of Habib Bank Ltd, loans millions of rupees to Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI); the latter sets up and funds a right-wing alliance, Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, against the Pakistan Peoples Party in 1990 elections
1992
ISI repays Yunus Habib’s favour, depositing funds to prop up his insolvent Mehran Bank
April 7, 1994
Yunus Habib is arrested over a misappropriation in the sale proceeds of Dollar Bearer Certificates.
1993/1994
The scandal breaks after new ISI DG Lt-Gen Javed Ashraf Qazi decides to transfer the intelligence funds back to state-owned banks; Mehran Bank is unable to return the money due to its poor financial state and collapses; It is later discovered that large sums had been siphoned off to 39 fictitious parties
June 7, 1994
Lt-Gen Durrani, then appointed as Pakistan’s ambassador to Germany, writes a letter to then premier Benazir Bhutto informing her of the beneficiaries of the operation and mentioning that it was conducted with the blessings of president Ghulam Ishaq Khan and her predecessor Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi. A copy of this letter was later submitted to the court by Naseerullah Babar along with his affidavit.
1995
Mehran Bank is amalgamated with the National Bank of Pakistan
Dec 14, 1995
Habib is convicted of fraud and embezzlement, and sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment
June 11, 1996
Then-interior minister, Naseerullah Babar, gives a speech in the parliament about Habib’s payments to generals, politicians and political parties. Alleges Gen Beg was the main beneficiary
June 16, 1996
Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan writes a letter to then-chief justice Nasim Hasan Shah against Gen Beg, Lt-Gen Durrani and Habib for misusing public funds
Nov 24, 1996
Supreme Court conducts the first hearing of the case
Oct 12, 1999
Last hearing of the case is held before it is shelved off for another 13 years, following Gen Pervez Musharraf’s coup. A total of 14 hearings had been held so far
Dec 20, 2006
The National Accountability Bureau recovers Rs1.6 billion from Yunus Habib
Dec 12, 2011
At a joint press conference with PTI chief Imran Khan, Asghar Khan urges the court to pick up his petition
Feb 29, 2012
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry resumes regular hearings of Asghar Khan’s petition
April 30, 2012
Statements of Gen Beg, Lt Gen Durrani and Naseerullah Babar are found to be missing from record; Advocate Salman Akram Raja, counsel for Asghar Khan, informs court that Rs60 million and Rs20 million had also been given to ISI’s ‘K’ fund and its Directorate of External and Operations respectively
March 7, 2012
After years underground, a frail wheelchair-bound Yunus Habib resurfaces, appears before the Supreme Court
March 8, 2012
Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani takes a stand in the SC, provides an affidavit that the army had indeed distributed Rs140 million to anti-PPP political candidates only a few months before the October 1990 general elections. Yunus Habib reveals in his first statement to the court that Gen Beg and then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan forced him to arrange around Rs350 million in the ‘supreme national interest’
March 29, 2012
Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Aftab Sultan appears before court; says he has no knowledge of the alleged funds being issued by the agency
May 8, 2012
Gen Beg denies any involvement in, or knowledge of, dishing out money to politicians in the 90s; he blames Lt-Gen Durrani
June 21, 2012
SC asks defence ministry to produce the notification under which a political cell in the ISI was set up in 1975
July 25, 2012
Lt-Gen Durrani names military officers allegedly involved in rigging the 1990 elections; claims half of the Rs140 million were distributed through him, the rest were deposited to ISI’s secret funds
Sept 12, 2012
Attorney General Irfan Qadir informs court the notification for the creation of ISI’s political cell is unavailable; court reiterates demand for notification
Oct 2, 2012
Defence ministry says no political cell was operating in the ISI
Oct 3, 2012
SC makes the Presidency a respondent in the case; CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry says the president’s office cannot be used for political activities
Oct 14, 2012
CJ Chaudhry says Lt-Gen Durrani violated the Constitution and his oath by distributing the funds among politicians
Oct 17, 2012
Presidential Secretary Malik Asif Hayat’s response to the court says no political cell has been operating in the presidency since 2008; Gen Beg and Lt-Gen Durrani point fingers at each other
Oct 18, 2012
Former Military Intelligence chief Brig (retd) Hamid Saeed submits his statement to the court
Oct 19, 2012
SC announces verdict in the case
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2012.
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