Accountability watchdog triumphs in six-hour game of ‘NAB me if you can’
Bail was cancelled for Sharjeel Memon and 11 others accused in a multi-billion rupee graft scam
Law enforcers arrest Sharjeel Memon from outside Sindh High Court in Karachi on Monday. PHOTO: INP
KARACHI:
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Over six hours of running back-and-forth inside and outside the Sindh High Court ended with National Accountability Bureau officials arresting former Sindh information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon.
The Asif Zardari aide’s doomed game of ‘catch me if you can’ started after an SHC bench cancelled the bail granted to Memon and 11 others. They are all accused in a multi-billion rupee graft scam involving government advertisements.
Aided by Rangers, NAB staffers eventually shifted Memon to their provincial headquarters for questioning and are likely to present him before an accountability court to be charged in a reference into the alleged Rs5.77 billion loss caused to the national exchequer in the award of contracts for government ad campaigns at exorbitant rates.
Bail hearing
Earlier in the day, the 13 accused pleaded to the court to extend interim pre-arrest bail granted to them.
NAB Special Prosecutor Yasir Siddique Mughal vehemently opposed the petitioners, arguing there was ample evidence available to connect them to the commission of the alleged offences. He urged the court to cancel interim bail of the accused.
Declining the petitioners’ requests, the judges cancelled the interim bail granted through different orders to Memon and 11 other accused. Interim bail of one accused – Riaz Munir – was confirmed.
The co-accused include former information secretary Zulfiqar Ali Shalwani, then-deputy director Mansoor Ahmed Rajput, then-information officer Sarang Latif Chandio, and senior officer Altaf Hussain Memon.
The other accused whose bail was cancelled include newspaper publisher Umar Shahzad, and advertising executives Salman Mansoor, Syed Naveed, Muhammad Hanif, and Asim Amir Sikandar.
Follow the lion
Several PPP leaders took a page out of the PML-N playbook and came to the court to support Memon. Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro, MPA Mukesh Chawla, and other leaders accompanied by lawyers associated with the Peoples Lawyers’ Forum kept Memon company in the corridors while his legal team kept trying and failing to keep their client from having to walk into of a jail cell.
After the hearing, Memon momentarily left the courtroom, but his lawyers surrounded him and quickly herded him back inside to avoid the NAB officials standing outside.
Memon’s lawyer then moved an application pleading to the court to restrain NAB officials from arresting him until he ‘voluntarily surrenders’ before the accountability court.
All cases are fabricated: Sharjeel Memon
Lawyers said his ‘voluntary appearance’ before the court could lead him to be remanded to the jail custody. Otherwise, any accused produced by the NAB is remanded to their custody for questioning.
However, CJ Sheikh dismissed the application. Memon and his co-accused then set up shop for hours inside the court premises to avoid arrest while their lawyers explored other options to help their clients avoid being taken into custody by NAB.
Later, another application was filed by Advocate Shahab Sarki, pleading to the court to restrain NAB from arresting Memon until he filed an application with the Supreme Court against the cancellation of his bail. This time, the bench declined to hear the plea.
After exhausting themselves waiting, five of the accused men surrendered to NAB officials.
Duck left, weave right
As Memon stayed inside the court premises, where accused persons cannot be arrested on denial of bail, the NAB officials called on the Rangers to help cover the SHC exits.
Rangers personnel stood alert at the main gate of the SHC, which remains open for entry and exit most of the day.
After waiting for hours on the second floor, Memon’s lawyers took him to the first floor of the building, which alerted the Rangers and media, as they thought the former minister might try to sneak out from one of the other gates, which are usually closed.
Memon instead hung around on the first floor for almost an hour until his lawyers finally decided to take him to the accountability court, which is located in the government barracks next to the SHC building.
Lawyers and PPP leaders then got into a shouting match with the NAB officials, which eventually devolved into pushing and shoving.
Sindh’s ex-minister Sharjeel Memon released after brief detention
‘Jeay Bhutto,’ they shouted as they paraded within the building – first to the main entrance which is only used by judges, then to the gate leading to the accountability courts. Here they got a rude surprise – court hours were over and the gate had been shut.
Memon, wearing a blue shalwar-kameez, seemed disconcerted during the altercations and was gasping for breath. By the time the incident was over, his shirt was missing a few buttons.
For a moment it appeared as if the Houdini act would succeed, as the big crowd walked towards the parking area near the SHC’s back gate, used by the lawyers and litigants.
But NAB officials finally got to their man. As Memon tried to get inside his vehicle, NAB officials took him into custody from the parking lot and rushed him to the NAB regional headquarters.
The national anti-graft watchdog had filed a reference against Memon and others in September last year, stating that investigations had revealed that almost Rs5.77 billion was paid to seven ad agencies in violation of Sindh Public Procurement Rules.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari described Memon's arrest as hypocrisy, asserting there the standards of law were different for the PPP leader against those for the Sharif family.
[fbvideo link="https://www.facebook.com/etribune/videos/2060869547263394/"][/fbvideo]
Over six hours of running back-and-forth inside and outside the Sindh High Court ended with National Accountability Bureau officials arresting former Sindh information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon.
The Asif Zardari aide’s doomed game of ‘catch me if you can’ started after an SHC bench cancelled the bail granted to Memon and 11 others. They are all accused in a multi-billion rupee graft scam involving government advertisements.
Aided by Rangers, NAB staffers eventually shifted Memon to their provincial headquarters for questioning and are likely to present him before an accountability court to be charged in a reference into the alleged Rs5.77 billion loss caused to the national exchequer in the award of contracts for government ad campaigns at exorbitant rates.
Bail hearing
Earlier in the day, the 13 accused pleaded to the court to extend interim pre-arrest bail granted to them.
NAB Special Prosecutor Yasir Siddique Mughal vehemently opposed the petitioners, arguing there was ample evidence available to connect them to the commission of the alleged offences. He urged the court to cancel interim bail of the accused.
Declining the petitioners’ requests, the judges cancelled the interim bail granted through different orders to Memon and 11 other accused. Interim bail of one accused – Riaz Munir – was confirmed.
The co-accused include former information secretary Zulfiqar Ali Shalwani, then-deputy director Mansoor Ahmed Rajput, then-information officer Sarang Latif Chandio, and senior officer Altaf Hussain Memon.
The other accused whose bail was cancelled include newspaper publisher Umar Shahzad, and advertising executives Salman Mansoor, Syed Naveed, Muhammad Hanif, and Asim Amir Sikandar.
Follow the lion
Several PPP leaders took a page out of the PML-N playbook and came to the court to support Memon. Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro, MPA Mukesh Chawla, and other leaders accompanied by lawyers associated with the Peoples Lawyers’ Forum kept Memon company in the corridors while his legal team kept trying and failing to keep their client from having to walk into of a jail cell.
After the hearing, Memon momentarily left the courtroom, but his lawyers surrounded him and quickly herded him back inside to avoid the NAB officials standing outside.
Memon’s lawyer then moved an application pleading to the court to restrain NAB officials from arresting him until he ‘voluntarily surrenders’ before the accountability court.
All cases are fabricated: Sharjeel Memon
Lawyers said his ‘voluntary appearance’ before the court could lead him to be remanded to the jail custody. Otherwise, any accused produced by the NAB is remanded to their custody for questioning.
However, CJ Sheikh dismissed the application. Memon and his co-accused then set up shop for hours inside the court premises to avoid arrest while their lawyers explored other options to help their clients avoid being taken into custody by NAB.
Later, another application was filed by Advocate Shahab Sarki, pleading to the court to restrain NAB from arresting Memon until he filed an application with the Supreme Court against the cancellation of his bail. This time, the bench declined to hear the plea.
After exhausting themselves waiting, five of the accused men surrendered to NAB officials.
Duck left, weave right
As Memon stayed inside the court premises, where accused persons cannot be arrested on denial of bail, the NAB officials called on the Rangers to help cover the SHC exits.
Rangers personnel stood alert at the main gate of the SHC, which remains open for entry and exit most of the day.
After waiting for hours on the second floor, Memon’s lawyers took him to the first floor of the building, which alerted the Rangers and media, as they thought the former minister might try to sneak out from one of the other gates, which are usually closed.
Memon instead hung around on the first floor for almost an hour until his lawyers finally decided to take him to the accountability court, which is located in the government barracks next to the SHC building.
Lawyers and PPP leaders then got into a shouting match with the NAB officials, which eventually devolved into pushing and shoving.
Sindh’s ex-minister Sharjeel Memon released after brief detention
‘Jeay Bhutto,’ they shouted as they paraded within the building – first to the main entrance which is only used by judges, then to the gate leading to the accountability courts. Here they got a rude surprise – court hours were over and the gate had been shut.
Memon, wearing a blue shalwar-kameez, seemed disconcerted during the altercations and was gasping for breath. By the time the incident was over, his shirt was missing a few buttons.
For a moment it appeared as if the Houdini act would succeed, as the big crowd walked towards the parking area near the SHC’s back gate, used by the lawyers and litigants.
But NAB officials finally got to their man. As Memon tried to get inside his vehicle, NAB officials took him into custody from the parking lot and rushed him to the NAB regional headquarters.
The national anti-graft watchdog had filed a reference against Memon and others in September last year, stating that investigations had revealed that almost Rs5.77 billion was paid to seven ad agencies in violation of Sindh Public Procurement Rules.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari described Memon's arrest as hypocrisy, asserting there the standards of law were different for the PPP leader against those for the Sharif family.