Corruption charges : SHC inquires about Sharjeel Memon’s return

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) inquired on Thursday about the plans of former provincial information minister, Sharjeel Memon, to return to the country.

Headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, the bench sought these details while hearing two applications seeking grant of pre-arrest bail for Memon and request to call details of corruption inquiries initiated by the federal agencies against him.

The Pakistan Peoples Party leader, who is currently living in self-exile in Dubai, said he had come to know through media that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had initiated inquiries against him.

Memon fears he will be arrested on basis of graft inquiries and placement of his name on the exit control list if he returns to the country. Therefore, he requested the court to grant him bail before arrest. He had also sought a direction for the NAB and FIA authorities to disclose to the court the details of the inquiries, investigation or cases they have registered against him.

During Thursday’s proceedings, the judges asked Memon’s lawyer to inform the court as to when Memon plans to return, so that appropriate orders could be passed, in accordance with the law.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th,  2016.