Prosecution withdraws witness in Dr Asim case

Dr Waqar Farooq had given a statement, but prosecutors feared it would favour the accused

KARACHI: An accountability court adjourned on Friday the hearing of a corruption reference against former petroleum minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Dr Asim and others, after the prosecution withdrew the name of witness Dr Waqar Farooq.

The court was hearing the reference which charges the accused with corruption worth Rs462 billion.

According to the prosecution, Farooq had given a statement against Dr Asim under Section 161 in a reference for corruption worth Rs462 billion. The prosecution feared that Farooq's statement would favour Dr Asim.

The court adjourned the hearing till January 25.

Asim Hussain allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment

In a separate corruption reference against Dr Asim and others, the court adjourned the hearing due to the absence of one of the accused.

The court was hearing a reference which charges the accused with corruption worth Rs17 billion. Dr Asim and other accused appeared in court, but Iqbal Z Ahmed failed to appear due to ill health.

The court adjourned the hearing till January 31 due to Ahmed's absence.

Remand extended

Meanwhile, the court extended the judicial remand of builder Haji Adam Jokhio and others, arrested for allegedly defrauding allottees of land. It also granted an extension to the investigation officer (IO) over the plea bargain application filed by the accused.

According to NAB, Jokhio defrauded members of the public by taking payments to book plots in residential projects for them in 1992. He did not hand over the allotted plots.

The NAB IO maintained that more time was required for the completion of the investigation against Jokhio, praying the court to grant an extension for this purpose.

Dr Asim allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment

The court accepted his request, granting the extension while also extending Jokhio's judicial remand until January 31. It had previously ordered the IO to submit a report after completing the investigation within a month.

Assets beyond means

In another case, the court adjourned the hearing of an assets beyond means reference against former provincial minister Sharjeel Inam Memon without any proceedings.

Memon and other accused appeared before the court, which adjourned the hearing till January 31 without any proceedings.

According to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Memon's wife and mother are also nominated as accused in the case. Bureau officials claim that they possess a complete record of assets beyond means acquired by the accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2020.