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Thursday March 28, 2024

Case against Dr Asim peanuts compared to allegations levelled against him

Much ado about nothing

By our correspondents
November 27, 2015
ISLAMABAD: One may be instantly labelled a devil’s advocate and called names, but facts relating to Dr Asim Hussain, a crony of former President Asif Ali Zardari, require to be unveiled and put in a proper prospective.
We were told through print and electronic media for months that Dr Asim committed unparalleled corruption amounting to billions/trillions of rupees. This bombardment of allegations was based on the information carefully provided by those who investigated the detainee.
But what has ultimately come out of the bag and that too on the last day of the expiry of his 90-day remand in the custody of the Sindh Rangers is no less than a joke. The case registered against him now has nothing to do with the tales of unheard of corruption we were fed for a long time.
A perusal of the FIR also endorses this. As far as the ‘corruption’ part of the FIR is concerned, it merely alleges that Dr Asim made illegal recruitments by taking bribes and awarded contracts to favourites in the Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO), apart from the allegation of facilitating terrorists and criminals.
It will turn out in the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) whether or not there is any substance in the charge against Dr Asim. However, the case was apparently lodged to keep him in detention otherwise he has to be released as the remand period ended. He was booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) so that he could not get bail as those arraigned under this law are denied this facility by the ATCs. It will be a big challenge for the prosecution to establish the charge.
Dr Asim has been accused of facilitating criminals and terrorists by getting them treated at two branches of his private hospital in Nazimabad and Clifton Karachi. Several other allegations were also leveled against him. As per the prosecution claim, he admitted all this before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT). His hospitals also provided logistical support to criminals and terrorists.
When he was subjected to a volley of allegations, he was presented as the most corrupt man in this part of the world. A general impression was created through a concerted campaign that he was involved in monumental financial bungling. He may be or may not be guilty of what was alleged as the charges have to stand the touchstone of law in a court. Filing of at least 10 cases might have justified the perception created about him as the leading plunderer and looter. Three months is not a short period to arrive at some conclusion about the accusations hurled against him frequently. Rangers had alleged that he received kickbacks of billions; got Rs2 bn from PSO; Rs150m-200m per day from selected textile mills and captive power plants; Turkish company paid $40-50m for prequalification as LNG exporter, etc. All this was contained in the 12-page report prepared by the Rangers.
The findings were sent to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) but the anti-graft agency is yet to come out with any case against him.
We were told that the Rangers report confirms almost all the charges of astronomical loot and plunder that was so far heard only in the media and was never endorsed by any official investigating agency.
The covering letter of the Rangers report, sent to the NAB on September 9, describes Dr Asim as “prima donna at the national level” who accrued “mighty illegal benefits which magnified his financial stature and social standing equating him to be indispensable.”
We were also informed that five other officials of the Sui Gas companies and Petroleum Ministry, who were also arrested and interrogated, gave explicit details of how Dr Asim had collected billions upon billions in kickbacks from companies, even those which were known friends of Zardari.
The Rangers report also said: “Dr Asim has been found involved in various acts of corruption, corrupt practices and misuse of authority as public office holder. He is responsible for inflicting losses to the tune of billions of rupees on the national exchequer. Huge amounts so embezzled were provided to his political masters, which were subsequently used in terror financing and funding target killers.”
We had been informed that the NAB chairman has authorised three different inquiries against Dr Asim on serious corruption charges amid some additional information being provided to the agency by some sources on yet another scam that involves the names of top-most PPP leaders and a retired general. These inquiries will focus on Dr Asim’s role in corruption cases relating to the affairs of Pakistan Medical Dental Council (PMDC), SSGCL, Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and illegal land allotments. An inquiry into his role in the LNG case is already with the NAB.
People were also told that Dr Asim’s hospitals are being investigated for alleged land grabbing.According to the Rangers report, Dr Asim gave favours and illegal gas connections to KESC, which was owned by Abraaj Group with links to Zardari and Faryal Talpur to the tune of Rs100 billion.
Dozens of similar details of what amounts were taken in land deals with Manzur Kaka, the building authority official who has escaped from Pakistan, PMDC issues and oil kickbacks, have also been revealed in the report.
However, there was no mention in the report how these huge amounts were transferred overseas or whether this money was still in Pakistani banks and all accounts had been seized.