Court remands late PPP leader’s son

Makhdoom Amin Fahim's son is accused of corruption during his stint in local govt

HYDERABAD:

An accountability court in Hyderabad on Thursday granted the seven-day physical remand of the former taluka nazim of Matiari district, Makhdoom Jaliluz Zaman, to the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) custody.

Jalil is the son of late Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim and the younger brother of PPP MNA Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman. He was arrested in Karachi on Wednesday.

The NAB reportedly suspected a link between Jalil and former Hyderabad additional district account officer Mushtaq Ahmed Shaikh, who was arrested in March 2017 and faced multiple references.

The NAB prosecutor apprised the court that Jalil faced charges of corruption worth tens of millions of rupees during his tenure in the local government.

He claimed that the accused was served several call-up notices to record his statements but he evaded the NAB's inquiry team.

Meanwhile, Jalil's counsel, Advocate Haji Khan Hingorjo, told the media that the NAB had failed to produce any convincing evidence in court.

"When the judge asked NAB what evidence it has against Jalil, it could not produce any evidence to prove how he was a beneficiary [of alleged corruption] or had any link with Shaikh," he claimed.

According to him, the judge scolded the NAB prosecutor and said the anti-graft watchdog was victimising Jalil. He added that the court gave NAB seven days to present proof against his client.

The lawyer said Jalil had been appearing before the NAB investigation team in the 2016 reference against Shaikh, adding that the latter had denied any connections with him during investigation.

The NAB had previously charged Shaikh with the embezzlement of millions of rupees in state funds. He had been arrested on the basis of information provided by a police constable and his son, who were earlier nabbed for a corruption scam in Hyderabad.

The watchdog had claimed it found assets worth around Rs1 billion in Shaikh's possession. He is faing inquiries in two separate references.

Separately, the PPP leadership has lambasted Jalil's arrest, terming it an act of 'political victimisation' by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led federal government.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2020.