Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday turned down the bail plea of Javed Hanif - sitting member of Sindh Assembly and ex-chairman Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and three co-accused in embezzlement of public funds and illegal appointments case. A division bench of SHC, headed by Justice Iqbal Kalhoro announced the order, which was reserved few weeks back by rejecting the bail petition of Javed Hanif along with co-accused Rauf Akhtar Farooqi, Mahmood Sharif and Haji Mohammad Sapras. The three co-accused are on the interim bail.
The division bench, however accepted the bail plea of Amir Ali Brohi and Mohammad Iqbal, who are also co-accused in the same case. Counsel for Rauf Akhtar Farooqi contended that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has no concrete evidence against his client, however the court didn't accept this contention.
The NAB framed charges of embezzlement of funds and illegal appointments in KPT against Javed Hanif, when he was Chairman KPT as well as against the other accused. The NAB submitted in the court that Javed Hanif made 940 illegal appointments in KPT without advertising the vacancies against these appointments. NAB also accused Javed Hanif of causing two billion rupees loss to national exchequer by committing the embezzlement in public fund.
According to NAB's charge-sheet against MPA Javed Hanif, he inducted the people illegally in KPT during the tenure of former Ports & Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghauri and alleged that people having criminal background were appointed in KPT. Javed Hanif's counsel Rasheed A Rizvi contended that arrest of his client was unlawful and submitted that Javed Hanif was arrested just a day before Chairman NAB issued directives no candidate can be arrested until the polling for the general elections was over.
Counsel argued that his client was not released despite the stated policy of the NAB over the contesting candidates. He told the court that Javed Hanif was arrested after he was issued the ticket to contest the election by his party. Rasheed said that his client is a former bureaucrat and currently sitting MPA of assembly by securing thousands of votes in the general elections and prayed Javed Hanif should be released immediately, which NAB prosecutor opposed.
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