Yet another bench declines to hear Dr Asim’s bail plea

Former petroleum adviser is accused of aiding criminals at his hospitals

KARACHI: Yet another bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) declined on Tuesday to hear the bail application filed by former petroleum adviser Dr Asim Hussain in a case relating to treatment and harbouring of criminals and terrorists at his private health facilities.

The bench, comprising Justices Ahmed Ali Sheikh and Rasheed Ahmed Soomro, directed the office to fix the matter before any other bench of which Justice Sheikh is not a member.

Dr Asim, a close aide of former president Asif Ali Zardari, had approached the SHC to seek bail in connection with the criminal case registered by the Rangers against him and others for allegedly harbouring and treating terrorists belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and 'gangsters' based in Lyari.

Identical bail applications filed by the co-accused, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement leaders Wasim Akhtar, now the mayor of Karachi, and Abdul Rauf Siddiqui, Pak Sarzameen Party's (PSP) Anis Kaimkhani, Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Abdul Qadir Patel and Pasban Pakistan's general secretary, Usman Moazzam, were also tagged with Dr Asim's plea. However, declining to hear the plea of Dr Asim, senior bench member Justice Sheikh asked the office to fix the matter before another bench of which he is not a member.

Later, the matter was referred to another bench, comprising justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Abdul Ghani Soomro. The judges fixed the matter for hearing on September 29.

A division bench headed by Justice Abdul Rasool Memon had refused to hear the bail applications of the accused on August 19 this year.

Case history

In July this year, Dr Asim approached the SHC seeking post-arrest bail after an anti-terrorism court dismissed the same on June 19, observing that 'sufficient evidence had been found for him to be prosecuted for the offence'.

The FIR registered by the Rangers deputy superintendent alleges that Dr Asim provided medical treatment and shelter to terrorists and criminals at the behest of leaders from various political parties. In the plea, Dr Asim had maintained that he had nothing to do with the daily affairs of Ziauddin Hospitals and the prosecution witness, Yousuf Sattar, was actually the person in charge of running the hospital's daily affairs.

He alleged that the prosecution had manipulated medical bills to make a case against him. According to his lawyer, Dr Asim is suffering from several ailments that require early medical treatment. Therefore, the court was pleaded to grant him bail.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2016.