A federal anti-corruption court in Karachi acquitted Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani in three cases pertaining to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) on Friday.

Gilani and around 25 others were indicted in around two dozen identical cases over the multi-billion rupee trade subsidy scam on March 29, 2018. All the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The Senate chairman appeared before the federal Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) court today, where Judge Dr Shahbana Waheed heard his acquittal pleas in three of the charges against him.

Senator Farooq H. Naek, also the vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), appeared as Gilani’s counsel.

Speaking outside the court today, Gilani said, “There was an approver who gave a testimony against me. Today, that person has become a suspect and is an absconder.”

Asked why there was no end to “political cases”, the ex-premier responded that there had been legislation done to prevent those by penalising false testimonies.

According to Naek, who was pleading the case in 2018 as well, the ex-premier was charged with corruption of Rs4.9 million in 26 cases but maintained that all the allegations were untrue.

The former premier as well as some former and serving senior TDAP officials — including its former chairman Tariq Iqbal Puri and former director general Abdul Karim Daudpota — had been booked for their alleged involvement in the approval and disbursement of fraudulent trade subsidies of billion of rupees to several fake companies through fictitious claims and backdated cheques during the PPP government.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had charge-sheeted Gilani in around 25 out of over 70 cases pertaining to the scam in 2014. At that time, the PPP leader had responded that they were false allegations.

In May 2014, the federal ACE court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for PPP leaders Gilani and Makhdoom Amin Fahim, a former commerce minister, in multiple cases relating to the scam.

The ex-premier had received interim pre-arrest bail from the ACE court in 12 cases in June 2014, while Fahim secured the same relief the next month. However, the court again issued non-bailable warrants for them and others in August 2015.

The case

According to the final investigation reports, the Ministry of Commerce had announced 25 per cent freight subsidies under the trade policy for 2002-03 to promote the export of non-traditional items, which brought less than $5m annually.

The FIA reports claimed that Faisal Siddique Khan, said to be the alleged frontman of the former premier, and M. Firdous had visited the Prime Minister’s House to give Rs5m to Gilani for allegedly directing the chief executive of TDAP to approve subsidy claims filed by Siddique. It said Zubair had received the money.

The major share of funds disbursed to various firms went into the hands of Siddique through his frontmen Mian Tariq, Mehr Haroon Rasheed and others, it added.

The reports further said that on the directives of ex-commerce minister Fahim, Farhan Junejo — a BPS-18 officer who had been suspended and faced departmental inquiry — was requisitioned from the Sindh government and inducted into the ministry in August 2009, regardless of the fact that his case was pending.

Junjeo was made director in the commerce minister’s office, and he issued directives in subsidy cases, it added. He worked in the commerce ministry without salary since the accountant general of Sindh had not issued the last pay certificate over his unauthorised absence, thus, his appointment was against the law, the reports said.

It further contended in the investigation reports that out of 48 companies, 22 were unfounded, while the remaining were ineligible to obtain this facility.

Ten of the 25 indicted had been declared proclaimed offenders, including Junejo, Rasheed and Tariq.

In his reply to the FIA, Gilani had said he was ignorant about the allegations regarding monetary benefits obtained by the persons mentioned in the FIA questionnaire.

“These allegations are based on self assumptions. The TDAP falls directly under the ministry of commerce, and being executive head of the country, I was not supposed to be aware of the activities of each and every citizen of Pakistan. However, if someone has committed any wrong, I can in no way be held responsible for that,” Gilani had stated.