ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), on Wednesday, granted interim bail to former Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah in a fake bank accounts scam.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Babar Sattar heard ex-CM Sindh’s bail before arrest petition and granted him interim bail until June 8th against surety bonds worth Rs200,000.
The former Chief Minister appeared before the court with his counsel Barrister Qasim Nawaz.
The lawyer argued that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has issued three call-up notices to his client in an investigation against the public office holders, legal persons and others involved in alleged fake bank accounts scam regarding misappropriation of land owned by the government and Pakistan Steel Mills by public functionaries.
Qasim Nawaz asked the court to declare the notices as unlawful and also requested to grant bail before arrest to his client till the final decision of the court.
The bench, after hearing the arguments, issued notices to the Chairman NAB, investigation officer and others, and directed them to submit a reply.
Former Chief Minister of Sindh is facing charges in various graft inquiries launched by the NAB including allegations of massive corruption in the Roshan Sindh project and others initiated by the provincial government.
Shah adopted in his petition that the respondents are in possession of the entire documentary evidence which clearly establishes bona fide of petitioner with not even a single element of criminality involved by the petitioner are all set to harass, humiliate and pressurise him.
“The allegations against the petitioner are illogical, misconceived, misplaced and uncalled for being simply malafide on the part of the respondents,” maintained the former CM.
He continued that the petitioner has been constitutionally guaranteed right to have a free and fair trial of charges and to be dealt with in accordance with the law but the respondents are bent upon sending him behind the bars, thereby, depriving him of the freedom of action requisite for squarely putting up his defense.
He further said that the petitioner has strong apprehension of undue arrest, humiliation and torture at the hand of the respondents, its officials/subordinate and as such, he deserves and accordingly craves for the grant of pre-arrest bail to him.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021