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KARACHI: Fortune finally smiled on Dr Asim Hussain, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Karachi chapter president and a close aide to former president Asif Ali Zardari, when his bail pleas in two corruption references were approved by the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday.
Dr Hussain could have been released on Wednesday had the referee judge not directed him to deposit his Pakistani and Canadian passports with the SHC along with the surety amount of Rs2.5 million in each reference.
This is the third corruption-related case involving the PPP bigwigs over the past 10 days or so in which courts have provided relief to three former ministers.
Former federal minister for religious affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi was released from the Adiala central jail on March 22, two days after he was cleared of corruption charges by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
SHC grants bail to PPP’s ex-minister in two corruption references; interior ministry told to place his name on the exit control list
Earlier on March 20, the IHC granted protective bail to Sharjeel Inam Memon, PPP’s former information minister in Sindh, following his dramatic arrest at Benazir Bhutto International Airport upon return from a self-imposed, two-year exile and release by the National Accountability Bureau after a few hours. Mr Memon is allegedly involved in a Rs5 billion corruption scandal of awarding ads to the media.
For quite some time political analysts in TV talk shows have been claiming that some kind of understanding has been reached between the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the opposition PPP. The recent consensus on the revival of military courts that the PPP initially opposed but later gave its consent to, albeit with some conditions, is said to have been one of the bargaining points.
According to Dr Asim Hussain’s lawyers, an application seeking ‘modification’ of the order regarding the passports would be filed before the referee judge on Thursday as the two passports had already been deposited to an antiterrorism court trying him in a case pertaining to treatment of terrorists at his hospitals.
Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar was appointed the referee judge by the chief justice after a two-judge bench — comprising Justices Mohammad Farooq Shah and Mohammad Karim Khan Agha — gave a split verdict on Dr Hussain’s bail applications in cases pertaining to depriving the exchequer of Rs462bn by misusing his authority to get land allotted illegally, encroaching upon state land for expansion of Dr Ziauddin Hospital, money laundering and receiving kickbacks.
Former federal minister Asim Hussain, who has been behind bars since Aug 8, 2015, had filed the applications through his counsel seeking bail in the cases.
The judges on the division bench issued a split order, differing from each other in their decisions.
Justice Agha granted bail to Dr Hussain in the sum of Rs2.5m in each case and PR bond of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Nazir of the court.
He directed the applicant to deposit his original passport with the Nazir and directed the ministry of interior not to issue fresh passport to him until further orders of the court and to place his name on the Exit Control List.
Treatment in prison
Justice Shah observed that the ailment which the petitioner had been suffering from was such that it could not be properly treated on the jail premises and some specialised treatment was needed. Dr Hussain’s continued detention was hazardous to his life, he noted.
On the other hand, Justice Shah rejected the bail applications, observing that the prosecution indeed had succeeded in establishing a case of dismissal of the bail under the relevant provision of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 and within the ambit of Section 497(i) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
“The applicant being a senior doctor has been provided excellent treatment and hospitalisation on the recommendation of a medical board,” he added.
Justice Shah observed that the prosecution had pointed out that Dr Hussain was receiving proper treatment from reputed senior doctors in renowned hospitals of the country. “There is no compelling reason for me to enlarge bail on the applicant at this stage when he is facing serious charges.”
The judge ruled that this case didn’t fall within the ambit of the provision of Section 497 of the CrPC.
“Consequently bail is declined,” he said. The co-accused in the case included former petroleum secretary Mohammad Ejaz Chaudhry; administrator of Ziauddin Medical Centre, Dubai, Abdul Hameed; former directors of the Karachi Development Authority Syed Athar Hussain and Masood Haider; and Karachi Dock Labour Board’s former chief executive officer Safdar Hussain.
Illegal award of contracts
The other reference against Dr Hussain pertains to illegal award of multibillion-rupee gas processing contracts to Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL) and thus embezzling funds to the tune of Rs17bn.
It was alleged in the reference that the accused allowed the JJVL to process gas at different fields without conducting an open auction, signing agreements and memorandums of understanding as required by law, thus causing a loss of Rs17.4bn to the exchequer.
The co-accused included SSGC managing director Khalid Rehman and former officials Zuhair Siddiqui, Azeem Iqbal, Shoaib Warsi, Yusuf Jamil Ansari and Malik Usman; former managing director of OGDCL Basharat Mirza and official Zahid Bakhtiar; and JJVL chief executive officer Iqbal Ahmed.
Politically-motivated detention
Minutes after his release, Dr Hussain called his detention “politically-motivated” and thanked the court for granting him bail.
“I always believe in [the] supremacy of law,” the statement issued by Dr Hussain’s spokesman quoted him as saying. “I am relieved and pleased to see that justice prevailed. My politically-motivated detention for almost two years was difficult for me and my family but throughout I had firm faith in Allah. I have always believed in the supremacy of law. I thank the court for granting...bail.” ATC orders release
Meanwhile, an antiterrorism court issued orders for the release of Dr Hussain in a case pertaining to the alleged sheltering and treatment of suspected terrorists at his hospitals.
Earlier on Nov 1, the high court had approved bail for Dr Hussain against a surety of Rs500,000.
He was accused of treating and providing shelter to suspected terrorists belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Lyari gangsters at his hospitals.
It was alleged that he did all this at the request from some politicians, including Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar, MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui and Abdul Qadir Patel of the PPP, and Anis Qaimkhani of the Pak Sarzameen Party.
Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2017
