An accountability court summoned on Saturday, more witnesses in Rs17 billion corruption reference filed against former adviser to the prime minister Dr Asim Hussain and others.
The counsel for the accused completed the cross-examination of the statement of one of the witnesses, Shabiul Hasan, during the hearing on Saturday, when Dr Asim and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) witness didn’t appear before the court.
Dr Asim’s lawyer informed the court that his client couldn’t attend the hearing as he was unwell and requested an exemption for him from attending the hearings.
The court granted Dr. Asim exemption and summoned more witnesses at the next hearing on March 27.
According to the NAB, the accused embezzled Rs17 billion on account of gas tenders.
Separately, the court again deferred on Saturday the indictment of the accused, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Rauf Siddiqui, in a case pertaining to illegal appointments in the Sindh Small Industries Corporation (SSIC).
The indictment was postponed due to the absence of one of the accused, Syed Ayaz Hussain.
Directing all the accused to ensure attendance at the next hearing, the court adjourned the hearing until March 18.
According to the NAB, Siddiqui and other accused were involved in making illegal appointments in the SSIC between 2008 and 2014 and caused a loss of Rs420 million to the national exchequer.
Besides Siddiqui and Hussain, other accused in the case are Muhammad Abid, Mushstaq Ali, Umar Ali, Muhammad Naeem and Sarwat Faheem.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2021.
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