SUKKUR: Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah’s son MPA Syed Farrukh Shah surrendered before accountability court on the orders of Supreme Court on Saturday and was subsequently arrested by National Accountability Bureau on the court premises.

Farrukh Shah is one of the 18 accused in a corruption reference filed against his father by National Accountability Bureau on Sept 19, 2019, on charges of accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income. Khursheed Shah, being the major accused, the remaining 17 co-accused include his two wives, two sons, two nephews, contractors and alleged frontmen.

The court heard counsel of the accused and the NAB prosecutor but upheld the Supreme Court orders by ordering arrest of the MPA, who was then shifted to NAB’s office. The bureau said it would seek 15-day physical remand of the accused when he would be produced in the accountability court on Monday.

Farrukh Shah had recently filed an application in the Supreme Court requesting for pre-arrest bail in the ongoing probe. The application was later withdrawn and the apex court ordered the accused to surrender to the Sukkur accountability court within three days.

Barrister Shabbir Shah, counsel for the accused, argued that even if the Supreme Court and high court rejected a bail the court concerned had powers to grant bail. The NAB had completed investigation a year ago and now the case’s trial was under way, he said.

He said the Supreme Court had directed his client to appear before the accountability court and ordered him to surrender to the court.

NAB prosecutor Malik Zubair argued that in the light of the Supreme Court orders the bureau be granted permission to arrest the accused as the investigators had high hopes they would be able find clues to ill-gotten money and assets during the course of investigation.

Shabbir Shah contended that NAB officials were present in the Supreme Court but it did not order to hand over his client to NAB and just asked him to cooperate with NAB.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2021