Daily Times

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday granted bail to Asif Hashmi, former Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) chairman, in a record tampering case. Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi passed the orders while hearing a post-arrest bail petition filed by Asif Hashmi. The petitioner’s counsel argued before the court that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had arrested his client on charges of tampering with ETPB record. He argued that the agency registered the case on political grounds as all allegations were baseless. He pleaded with the court for granting benefit of bail to his client.

However, FIA’s prosecutor opposed the plea, saying that the case was not registered on political grounds as the agency had solid evidence against the accused. He pleaded with the court for dismissing the bail application.

The court, after hearing detailed arguments of the parties, granted post-arrest bail to Asif Hashmi. It is pertinent to mention here that the National Accountability Bureau and FIA had filed various cases against Asif Hashmi who served as ETPB chairman between 2008 and 2013.