The Peshawar High Court ordered the release of Upper Kurram Agency’s assistant political agent (APA) on bail on Wednesday. APA Maqsood Hassan was arrested on August 28 by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for possessing illegal assets.
The release order of APA Maqsood Hassan was issued by a bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan on the condition of two personal bonds and a surety bond of Rs5 million.
During the hearing, the bench was informed by Arshad Ali, the defence attorney, that his client was arrested after assets worth over Rs20 million were discovered from his possession. A reference in this regard has been filed in the accountability court.
According to the attorney, the bureau claimed his client has assets which included a house and vehicle. However, he insisted that Hassan had inherited the assets and had not embezzled public money to purchase them.
Ali added his client had also been accused for using profits from saving certificates and property acquired illegally to buy the house and vehicle. However, the attorney claimed NAB has not produced sufficient evidence to prove this and therefore could not establish its case.
However, the NAB prosecutor defended the APA’s arrest, stating he accumulated illegal assets during his tenure as a government servant. The prosecutor said the bureau had filed a reference against him for being involved in corruption worth over Rs20 million based on evidence against the accused. Moreover, the names and testimonies of 29 witnesses were also included in the reference.
After hearing the arguments, the court ordered the release of the accused on two personal bonds and a surety bond of Rs5 million.
Earlier, on Monday, NAB K-P formally filed a reference of corruption worth Rs20 million against APA Maqsood Hassan. It was brought to its notice that Hassan had allegedly accumulated assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income.
Consequently, NAB K-P took cognizance of the matter and an enquiry was authorised. After the allegations were confirmed, a thorough investigation was initiated to collect further evidence regarding the property owned, controlled and possessed by the APA under his name or the name of his dependents.
According to a complaint received by the bureau, Hassan acquired a house, several plots in Hayatabad, Peshawar and invested heavily in national saving schemes besides owning a number of vehicles while serving as the assistant political agent of Mohmand Agency.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2014.
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