Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday arrested former Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) chairman Syed Asif Hashmi from the Supreme Court on the directives of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar over embezzlement charges.

When a three-member Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, took up the case, Hashmi stated that he was appearing on court orders.

The chief justice thanked Hashmi for appearing before the court and told him that he was a proclaimed offender. The Counsel for Hashmi stated that his client had secured pre-arrest and interim bails in all the six cases against him.

However, Additional Attorney General Rana Waqar and a FIA representative told the court that there were eight cases against Hashmi and in two of them he had not secured bail.

Rana Waqar stated that the trial of some cases against Hashmi was underway in Lahore, whereas some cases were under adjudication before the accountability court. Besides, investigation was pending against him before the anti-corruption bureau. On insistence, the chief justice was told that Hashmi was granted bail by Special Judge Muhammad Rafique in Lahore. The court then directed that a regular trial of Hashmi be initiated and wherever the trial was underway against him should be completed.

The case in which Hashmi was arrested related to over Rs 1.5 billion embezzlements in a deal of Evacuee property.

The chief justice directed the FIA representatives – present in the court – to arrest Hashmi in the remaining two cases, wherein he did not secure pre-arrest bail.

The former ETPB chairman was wanted to the FIA and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in different cases pertaining to illegal selling of ETPB land, fund embezzlement and illegal recruitments.

The FIA had detained him at the airport on Feb 10, 2018 when he arrived from Dubai on an emergency basis. The Supreme Court had directed earlier to Hashmi to come back and face the cases.

After reaching the country, Hashmi, who is also a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader, had claimed that all the cases registered against him were ‘politically motivated’. Hashmi served as the ETPB chairman from 2007 to 2013. After completing his tenure, he had left for Dubai in April 2016.

Former CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had taken suo motu notice against corruption worth billions of rupees in a land deal of the ETPB. Hashmi was accused of selling the ETPB land worth billions of rupees for peanuts.

During the hearing of the case, the then CJP had observed that ETPB chairman had made an illegal agreement despite the fact that the ETPB land could neither be sold nor can be exchanged.

Published in Daily Times, February 16^th 2018.