Asghar Khan case: Hearing adjourned after Nawaz fails to appear in court

30 individuals, including Nawaz, told to answer allegations in Asghar Khan case till Saturday

ISLAMABAD:  

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) decided to contact military authorities via the defence ministry asking for the alleged record regarding Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI) purported distribution of money among politicians before the 1990 general election.

FIA submitted a fresh report in the Supreme Court, stating that its investigation team would request the defence ministry for cooperation regarding the agency’s record in this connection.

It also informed the apex court that NAB officials and SC registrar had also been contacted to provide relevant record.

The NAB was requested to share details of its investigation/inquiry against Younus Habib, Yousuf Memon and Javed Hashmi.

Similarly, details of Younus Habib’s plea bargain were also sought from NAB.

FIA, its officials said, had also contacted the SC registrar for providing the record of Asghar Khan case.

The agency’s investigation team was also examining old interviews and talk-shows regarding the distribution of money among politicians.



FIA, it stated, had also recorded statements of retired military officers Asad Durani and Aslam Beg.

During the hearing of the matter of implementation of the apex court’s judgment in this regard, the court directed 30 individuals, including Nawaz Sharif, to submit their replies over these allegations till Saturday.

The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court MianSaqib Nisar, noted that these politicians should have voluntarily appeared before FIA’s investigation team.

The bench noted that it would decide whether their trials should be conducted by the military authorities or civilian court.



During the hearing, former army chief Aslam Beg said that the apex court should decide his case, instead of referring his matter to the army.

Upon this, the CJP asked him to file an application, saying that the court would consider it.

During the hearing on Thursday, senior politician Javed Hashmi was appeared but Nawaz Sharif could not appear. The chief justice directed the attorney-general to find out if Nawaz Sharif was in Islamabad and if so asked him to appear before the court within an hour.

Later, the attorney-general said that the former prime minister was in the accountability court and was unable to attend the apex court’s hearing.

The bench observed that his counsel could represent him on the next hearing at the Lahore Registry on Sunday.

Earlier, Javed Hashmi appeared before the bench and denied having received any money from the ISI, adding that he had appeared before NAB’s investigation team and cleared himself. Appreciating Hashmi’s conduct, the chief justice said that honest political leaders should spearhead matters such as graft.

The CJP pointed out that the government had decided to send the matter regarding two military officers to the army for initiating proceedings against them.

Likewise, civilian matters were being dealt by FIA. The hearing was adjourned till Sunday. Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif is learnt to have decided to submit a reply in the Asghar Khan case.

He has also engaged Barrister Munawar Dangal as his counsel.

On June 16, 1996, Asghar Khan had written a letter to then CJP Sajjad Ali Shah, naming politicians who had allegedly received money from the ISI before the 1990 general election.

The fund was allegedly provided by Younus Habib, the then chief executive officer of Habib Bank Limited (HBL), which was a government-run bank at that time.

According to the letter, Sharif had allegedly received Rs3.5 million, Mir Afzal Khan Rs10 million, Lt-Gen Rafaqat Rs5.6 million (for distributing money among journalists), Abida Hussain Rs1 million, the Jamaat-e-Islami Rs5 million, and senior journalist Altaf Hussain Qureshi Rs500,000.

Moreover, in Sindh, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi and Jam Sadiq received Rs5 million each, Muhammad Khan Junejo Rs250,000, Pir Pagara Rs2 million, Maulana Salahuddin Rs300,000 and other small groups were given Rs5.4 million.

In Balochistan, Humayun Marri received Rs1.5 million. The letter also contained names of Bizenjo and Kakar tribes.

The apex court had announced its verdict in the case in November 2012, which stated that former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, former army chief General (retd) Mirza Aslam Beg and former ISI chief Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani acted in violation of the Constitution by facilitating a group of politicians and political parties to ensure their success against rival candidates in the 1990 general election.

The seven-page short order, authored by former CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry, read, “Any Election Cell/Political Cell in the presidency or ISI or MI (Military Intelligence) or within their formations shall be abolished immediately and any letter/notification to the extent of creating any such Cell/Department by any name whatsoever, explained herein, shall stand cancelled forthwith.”

The court also held that the involvement of officers or members of secret agencies in unlawful activities, individually or collectively, called for strict action ‘being, violative of oath of their offices’, and if involved, they “are liable to be dealt with under the Constitution and the Law”.

“The citizens of Pakistan, as a matter of right, are free to elect their representatives in an election process being conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with the law,” the verdict stated.