Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Zafarul Haq Hijazi on Tuesday secured a six-day protective bail in a case registered against him over criminal misconduct and misuse of official authority for allegedly passing illegal order and exerting pressure on his subordinates for forging and falsifying of official record.
A single-member bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC) comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani granted bail to Hijazi with directives to approach Special Court which is a proper forum for relief in the matter.
Earlier, a three-member bench led by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan formed for implementation of the apex court verdict in Panama Papers case had issued directives to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to probe Hijazi over Joint Investigation Team's complaint that he is involved in tampering with record of Sharif family's entities.
Upon receiving the FIA report in the matter which found Hijazi guilty for tampering with record in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, the apex court issued directives to the Attorney General for Pakistan to register a criminal case against the SECP chairman on July 10. The FIA registered a case against Hijazi on July 10 after on July 11 the chairman SECP filed a bail application before the IHC, seeking protective bail on medical grounds through his counsel Sheikh Zameer Hussain.