AC fixes June 4 to hear reference against Dr Asim Hussain

KARACHI: An accountability court (AC) fixed June 4 to hear a reference against former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain and five others facing charges of corruption of around Rs462 billion.

Another witness, Amadud Din, an officer of the Board of Revenue, appeared before the court for recording his statement in order to confirm the allegations leveled by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that the Ziauddin Hospital was not a charitable organization. 

It was claimed that the hospital was being run on commercial basis.  Dr Asim Hussain, a leader of the Pakistan People’s Party and a close aide to former president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, allegedly adopted corrupt practices in running the hospital.  The witnesses produced by NAB have alleged that Dr Asim Hussain had misused his authority as a federal minister.  Earlier, a witness, Mukhtar Hussain, an assistant in the administration department of an audit company, had presented an audit report of the company. 

The company had audited Dr Ziauddin Hospital (owned by Dr Asim Hussain) from 2005 to 2015.  Dr Asim Hussain and five others have been accused of having illegally curtailed gas to the agriculture sector to benefit a particular group associated with the fertilizer industry. 

Anwar Mansoor Khan, attorney for Dr Asim Hussain, had contradicted the witness, saying that Mukhtar Hussain was not an auditor.