Court appearance: Pir Mazharul Haq gets one-day exemption

NAB initiated inquiry against former minister over ‘illegal’ recruitments, corruption

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) granted on Tuesday one-day exemption to former Sindh education minister Pir Mazharul Haq from appearance in court in a case relating to the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) inquiry against him and other ministers over alleged illegal recruitments and abuse of funds.

Haq had approached the court in 2015 against alleged harassment by the NAB in connection with an inquiry into illegal appointments and misuse of funds in the education department.

In his petition, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader had said he had come to know through media that NAB decided to initiate an inquiry against him regarding his involvement as a senior minister in the previous PPP-led government in unlawful use of government funds and illegal recruitments after the 2008 elections.

The petitioner had maintained that he was being subjected to political victimisation but the accountability courts had acquitted him of all charges.

Claiming that the allegations were fake, Haq had pleaded that the court restrain the NAB from taking any coercive action against him.

On Tuesday, the two-judge bench was requested to grant exemption to the petitioner from appearing in the court because of an engagement.

The bench allowed the request and fixed hearing on August 9.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2016.