Asghar Khan case: Former army chief Gen Aslam Beg appears before SC

ISLAMABAD: Former army chief General Aslam Beg on Monday appeared before the Supreme Court in Asghar Khan case.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar had directed the court office to fix the case on May 7 to hear the review petitions against 2012 judgment by the apex court in the famous Asghar Khan case.

A three-member bench headed by the chief justice is conducting the proceedings.

The case has once again come into the limelight at a time when the plaintiff Asghar Khan, former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, former premier Benazir Bhutto, former interior minister Major General (retd) Naseerullah Babar and a key witness Abdul Hafeez Pirzada are no more in this world.

When the hearing resumed, the CJP asked the former COAS to begin his arguments if he has not engaged any lawyer. On this, Beg requested time to prepare for the case saying he was informed about the case a couple of days ago.

The chief justice refused to grant more time and told the former chief that the hearing would not be adjourned at any cost.

In 1996, Asghar Khan wrote a letter to the-then chief justice of Pakistan Nasim Hassan Shah alleging that Ghulam Ishaq Khan, General Aslam Beg, DG ISI Lt. Gen Asad Durrani and ex-Habib Bank Sindh chief and Mehran Bank owner Younis Habib had doled out Rs140 million among several politicians ahead of the 1990 polls to ensure Benazir Bhutto’s defeat in the polls.

On October 19, 2012, the apex court issued a 141-page verdict under the-then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry declaring that the 1990 elections were rigged. The court had ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate the fraudulent elections and initiate legal proceedings against the two Generals.

General Beg and Gen Asad Durrani filed appeals against the apex court’s decision. The apex court on Friday approved the petitions for hearing and sent notices to the affected parties. Khan, who passed away in January this year, was represented in the Supreme Court by renowned lawyer Salman Akram Raja.