Agha Siraj Durrani granted bail in NAB reference

Observing that Sindh Assembly Speaker and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Agha Siraj Durrani has been incarcerated, albeit at his residence that was declared a sub-jail, for more than one year and the trial could take time to conclude, an accountability court on Monday granted him post-arrest bail in a reference pertaining to allegedly amassing unlawful assets to the tune of Rs1.61 billion.

Durrani, along his family members and others, has been charged with accumulating assets worth Rs1,610,669,528 through illegal means.

Judge Shahid Pervaiz Memon of the Accountability Court-VII approved the bail of the Sindh Assembly speaker against a surety of Rs1 million. He remarked that Durrani sought bail on ground of statutory delay in the conclusion of his trial.

The judge said more than 50 witnesses had been listed in the reference, of whom only two had been examined and it would take time to record the testimonies of the remaining witnesses. The judge remarked that no one could be confined for an indefinite period.

"As far as delay is concerned, the case diary shows that the same is not on the part of the accused but because of the circumstances mentioned in the diaries," the judge noted. "The accused remained in custody with effect from 01.07.2019 to 03.11.2019 and [then] from 23.12.2021 till today. The second arrest of accused shows that he has continuously been incarcerated for more than one year and examination of above fifty witnesses will obviously take time to conclude. No one can be kept in custody or incarceration for indefinite period. Moreover, bail cannot be withheld as punishment."

Defence counsel Farooq H Naek contended that his client was first arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in Islamabad on Feb 20, 2019 in connection with an investigation launched into his alleged assets beyond known sources of income. Three months later on May 21, the national graft buster filed a reference against his client, after which only one witness could be examined by the trial court, he added.

He further mentioned that the Sindh High Court granted him post-arrest bail on December 13, 2019 and he had been out on bail until his arrest in December 2021. He said Durrani had not misused the previous concession of bail granted to him by the SHC or tampered with evidence.

The NAB prosecutor opposing the bail plea argued that the accused had been causing delay in the conclusion of the trial, requesting the judge to dismiss his application.

According to the reference, the PPP leader allegedly could not account for the difference of Rs1,610,669,528 between his declared total income from 1985 to 2018 and the assets, including properties, vehicles and others valuables, registered in the name of 19 people, including his wife Naheed, son Shahbaz, daughters Sanam, Sonya, Shahana and Sara, brother Agha Masihuddin, Zulfiqar Dahar, Shamshad Khatoon, Munawar Ali, Ghulam Murtaza, Muhammad Irfan, Shakeel Soomro, Gulbahar Baloch, Aslam Langah, Tufail Shah, Mitha Khan, Muhammad Shah and Gulzar Ahmed.