Benazir murder case: Court rejects bank’s plea to reopen Musharraf’s account
The trial judge said the bank had no legal standing to request detachment of the account.
RAWALPINDI:
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday dismissed a bank’s plea seeking permission to reopen the bank account of former president Pervez Musharraf after it was seized in connection with the Benazir Bhutto murder case.
Special Judge ATC-I Chaudhry Habibur Rehman dismissed the plea of Habib Bank Limited in Islamabad asking for reopening of the attached account claiming it to be a trust account.
The trial judge, while disposing of the plea, said the bank had no legal standing to request detachment of the account as only the affected persons could approach the court.
The bank through its branch manager had asked for reopening the account containing over Rs60 million, calling it a trust account that had money which was supposed to be used for the welfare of needy people.
The account was seized after the former president, an accused in the case of Benazir Bhutto’s murder, was declared a proclaimed offender and his properties were attached by the court.
A special public prosecutor from the Federal Investigation Agency had contended before the court that the account was the personal account of Musharraf and it was never used for welfare purpose.
Secondly, the bank had no legal standing to urge for reopening the account as they were not affected by the court order.
Thirdly, a proclaimed offender can only personally claim legal relief after getting bail from the court or surrendering himself before law enforcers.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2012.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday dismissed a bank’s plea seeking permission to reopen the bank account of former president Pervez Musharraf after it was seized in connection with the Benazir Bhutto murder case.
Special Judge ATC-I Chaudhry Habibur Rehman dismissed the plea of Habib Bank Limited in Islamabad asking for reopening of the attached account claiming it to be a trust account.
The trial judge, while disposing of the plea, said the bank had no legal standing to request detachment of the account as only the affected persons could approach the court.
The bank through its branch manager had asked for reopening the account containing over Rs60 million, calling it a trust account that had money which was supposed to be used for the welfare of needy people.
The account was seized after the former president, an accused in the case of Benazir Bhutto’s murder, was declared a proclaimed offender and his properties were attached by the court.
A special public prosecutor from the Federal Investigation Agency had contended before the court that the account was the personal account of Musharraf and it was never used for welfare purpose.
Secondly, the bank had no legal standing to urge for reopening the account as they were not affected by the court order.
Thirdly, a proclaimed offender can only personally claim legal relief after getting bail from the court or surrendering himself before law enforcers.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2012.