Court acquits ex-SECP chief in tampering case

ISLAMABAD:

The court of special judge central in Islamabad on Saturday acquitted former Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) chairman Zafar Hijazi in a case wherein he faced charges of tampering with the records of the Sharif family’s Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM).

Special Judge Central Shah Rukh Arjumand observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the allegations levelled against the accused, accepting Hijazi’s acquittal plea.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered the case against Hijazi in July 2017 after its inquiry team, on the directions of Supreme Court’s special bench, had found him guilty of tampering with the records of companies owned by the Sharif family.

The top court issued the directions while hearing a case against the Sharif family in connection with the Panama Papers case.

Three SECP officers – Maheen Fatima, Abid Hussain, and Ali Azeem Akram – who became approvers in the charge sheet, claimed that Hijazi had pressured them to tamper with the records.

Hijazi was arrested on July 21, 2017 by the FIA after a special court dismissed his interim pre-arrest bail plea.

When the special court took up the case back then, Hijazi’s lawyer argued that the allegations levelled against his client were false and he had never pressured any SECP official to tamper with the records.

He pointed out that the FIA had not arrested the officials, who were directly involved in the case but booked Hijazi, who was not even a co-accused in the matter.

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The counsel for the FIA, however, opposed the bail application saying no mala fide was involved and the case was registered on the basis of evidence following an inquiry into the matter.

After the arguments, the special court dismissed Hijazi’s bail plea.

On Oct 27, 2017, a special court indicted the former SECP chief over tampering with records of the sugar mill.

Hijazi had pleaded not guilty after the judge indicted him under Section 420 (cheating), Section 466 (forgery) and Section 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 5(2)(47) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

His counsel argued that the statement of SECP officer Maheen was not solid enough to initiate trial proceedings against Hijazi. However, the prosecutor opposed the argument, following which Hijazi was indicted.

In his current acquittal plea, Hijazi informed Judge Arjumand that he was appointed as the SECP chairman on Dec 17, 2014.

He contended that the Panama Papers case against the Sharif family as well as the investigation into the CSM both took place in 2013 before his appointment as the SECP chief. Therefore, he added that the case did not stand.