Denied: ATC rejects Sehba Musharraf’s plea to unfreeze accounts

FIA special prosecutor claims the money belongs to General (retd) Musharraf.

RAWALPINDI:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday rejected the former first lady’s request for unfreezing General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s assets.      

Special Judge ATC-I Chaudhry Habibur Rehman rejected Sehba Musharraf’s application. Ilyas Siddiqui, Sehba’s counsel, maintained that this exercise was done in haste and the property was seized. He said out of the 11 bank accounts, 4 were joint accounts of Mr and Mrs Musharraf and the court could not freeze them.



Siddiqi maintained that the accounts and assets were seized after General (retd) Musharraf was declared a proclaimed offender following accusations of his involvement in Benazir Bhutto’s murder. He claimed that the Islamabad High Court in October last year had admitted their petition regarding the ownership of the Chak Shahzad farmhouse for regular hearing and granted him a stay order.

However, Federal Investigation Agency Special Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar opposed his argument and said only the offender could request that his accounts be detached. “Despite numerous summons, Musharraf has not appeared before the court.” He stated that freezing the 11 bank accounts was legal as Mrs Musharraf was a housewife and was dependent on her husband.



The ATC in August 2011, declaring former president General (retd) Musharraf a proclaimed offender in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case, had attached his moveable and immovable properties and seized 11 bank accounts.

The court had proceeded under Section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code for the attachment of the properties which include a farmhouse in Chak Shahzad, a plot in Singhar Housing Colony, Gwadar and bank accounts detailed in a letter by the State Bank.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2013.