Bank of Punjab case: Court absolves lawyers of wrongdoing

Chief justice asks NAB prosecutor for details of defaulters.

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has absolved the lawyers representing Sheikh Afzal, owner of Harris Steel Mills, of any wrongdoing for charging a high fee to project him in the Bank of Punjab fraud case.

Presiding over a three-member bench, the chief justice asked Advocate General Punjab Khawaja Harris, counsel for Bank of Punjab, to refrain from singling out Supreme Court lawyers and observed that they must be respected.

The counsel had been reading from a report documenting allegations levelled against leading lawyers by Sheikh Afzal who defaulted on loans in connivance with former Bank of Punjab president Hamesh Khan. The report was submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency. Harris contended that Sheikh Afzal paid Rs6 million in legal fees to Wasim Sajjad and Ali Sajjad, while Sharifuddin Pirzada received Rs12.5 million. Harris said that exaggerated statements could not be ruled out. Referring to Sheikh Afzal and Irfan Ali, he said their testimonies could not be trusted. Regarding the notices sent by the FIA to the lawyers in question for charging sky-high fees, the counsel said Dr Babar Awan and Malik Abdul Qayyum had responded to them but they had raised objections over its jurisdiction.

The chief justice asked Deputy Prosecutor General National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Raja Amir to inform the court how many accused had opted for a plea bargain and the amount of money that has been recovered from them. He also asked him to disclose how many cases are still pending with NAB.

Amir told the bench that the bureau has not handed the files over to him despite the fact that he is representing NAB. The chief justice directed NAB to cooperate with Amir and provide all the information he needs to prepare for the case. The chief justice adjourned the hearing for Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2011.