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KARACHI: Dr Asim Hussain, former petroleum minister and close aide of former president Asif Zardari, and five others were charged with corruption of Rs462 billion by an accountability court on Friday but pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The five others who face charges in the corruption reference are: former petroleum secretary Mohammad Ejaz Chaudhry, Abdul Hameed, a group finance adviser and now administrator of Ziauddin Medical Centre, Dubai; Safdar Husain, a former chief executive officer of the Karachi Dock Labour Board (KDLB); and former directors of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) Syed Athar Hussain and Masood Haider Jaffri ─ all of whom have been charged with "facilitating" Dr Asim.
Dr Asim, while denying the charges, claimed the cases against him are false and requested that his statement be added into the formal indictment. Although the NAB prosecutor said only an admission of guilt or denial can be recorded, the court accepted Dr Asim's request to formally record his statement.
Charges against Dr Asim
• Money laundering through 'hawala hundi'
• Illegal encroachment and land grabbing
• Double-charging government organisations
• Misuse of KPT dock workers' insurance
• Kickback/commission from gas supply
Explore: Dr Asim Hussain is an innocent rabbit, says Zardari
Accountability Court IV Judge Saad Qureshi read out the charges against the accused, who pleaded not guilty. The court summoned the prosecution witnesses with direction to record their testimonies in the next hearing of the case on May 14.
Dr Asim is accused of misusing his authority for getting plots allotted fraudulently and encroaching upon state land for expansion of Dr Ziauddin Hospital/Trust, illegal gains, kickbacks and money laundering.
The former minister has also been accused of receiving commissions from a fertiliser cartel for an "exploitative price hike". Another charge related to "black marketing and fraud with the public" in the name of a charity hospital.
The reference alleged that the former petroleum minister had deprived the state of Rs462.5bn from 2010 to 2013 — Rs450bn through the fertiliser scam, Rs9.5bn through land fraud and Rs3bn through money laundering.
According to the reference, Dr Asim had approved summaries for unjustifiable and arbitrary gas curtailment in the name of load management. Ejaz Chaudhry allegedly facilitated the former minister by moving the summaries without considering rational approach. The former secretary, it alleged, had also failed to implement a June 2011 decision of the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet for providing 80 per cent gas supply to fertiliser companies.
According to the reference, Safdar Hussain was allegedly involved in illegal extension and award of KDLB contract in violation of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules and facilitated Dr Asim to take over the KDLB hospital and misuse it for private practices and referral facility. Mr Hussain also allowed the former minister to use KDLB premises for nursing accommodation and after retirement he joined Ziauddin Hospital as general manager human resources, it added.
NAB alleged that the two former directors of the KDA had granted illegal lease of two acre KDA land in North Nazimabad and 2.8 acre in Clifton in favour of Dr Asim. The bureau claimed that the former minister had also illegally and fraudulently got more plots allotted for cancer hospital, medical university and other educational purposes.
NAB accused Abdul Hameed of facilitating the main accused for illegal conversion, placement and integration of illegal money and converting it into assets abroad and in Pakistan. He also signed the lease of illegally allotted land.
The reference contended that Dr Asim got Dr Ziauddin Hospital Trust registered in 1981 and the objective of the trust was charitable which he never adhered to and in fact had been using it for commercial purposes in violation of the Trust Act, 1982.
The former petroleum minister, it alleged, had used the charity hospital as a vehicle of manipulation, money laundering, accumulation of wealth and assets, fraudulently got the land allotted for trust hospital and received grants from government/public functionaries. The registration of the trust was also illegal as it was required to be enlisted with the income tax department under 42 of ITO 2002, it added.
Dr Asim is also facing another Rs17.3bn corruption reference and charges of allegedly treating and harbouring terrorists. The next hearing of the other corruption reference against him will be on May 12.
The former minister was arrested by Rangers on Aug 26 from his office. His arrest was described as the first major action against PPP leaders during the ongoing Karachi operation.
