Top court grants bail to ex-DG of Hajj

Court bars Rao Shakil from leaving the country

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Rao Shakeel, the main accused in the multi-million-rupee Hajj scam that surfaced in 2010.

The three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, granted bail to the former director general of Hajj on the condition that the accused would forfeit his passport and would not travel abroad until his trial ends. The court also ordered Shakil to submit a surety bond worth Rs10 million.

During the hearing, Asma Jahangir, who was representing Shakil, contended that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was delaying the trial.

NAB Prosecutor General K K Agha argued that since Shakil was involved in a multi-million-rupee fraud case, he should not be granted bail.

Subsequently, the bench questioned the prosecutor over whether the accountability watchdog wanted to incarcerate the accused or have him sentenced.

The prosecutor stated that the accused was seeking unnecessary adjournments to delay the trial. Dismissing Agha’s contentions Justice Jamali said that the government was responsible for presenting the accused before the court.

Shakeel, a key accused in the Hajj corruption scam, has been in prison for the past four years. The ex-director of Hajj was accused of causing financial losses amounting to millions of rupees.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2014.