SHC allows Dr Arif Alvi to withdraw up to Rs1m from his bank account

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday allowed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and former Pakistan president Dr Arif Alvi to withdraw up to Rs1 million from his bank account in Islamabad for the purpose of his general living expenses until the next date of hearing.

Dr Alvi and his wife Samina Alvi had petitioned the SHC that their bank accounts had been blocked by private banks on the directions of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).

Their counsel Ali Tahir said the NCCIA had initiated baseless inquiries against Dr Alvi under the Pakistan Penal Code’s sections 298 and 298-A, which pertain to blasphemy-related allegations.

Tahir said the respondent agency’s officials had issued letters to the banks where his client and his family members have their accounts and had asked them to block them.

He said the petitioner and his family members are unable to access personal and lawful funds due to the arbitrary and unlawful directives of the NCCIA issued to the private banks.

He also said that neither the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Act nor the anti-money laundering act confers any authority on the NCCIA to unilaterally freeze or block the accounts of the petitioners without observing any due process of the law and legal procedure.

The counsel said that the private banks and the NCCIA had offered no opportunity of hearing to the petitioners with regard to justifying their action.

He said the absence of procedural safeguards in such a serious matter is not only alarming but also underscores the respondent agency’s disregard for law and constitutional governance. The counsel for the private banks sought time to file comments on the petition.

An SHC division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha said the FIA’s investigating officer did not appear in court, and the official sent by the NCCIA has no relevant information as regards the nature of the case and was unable to assist the court.

The court said that without the proper assistance by the IO, the court is unable to fully comprehend why the petitioner’s as well as his wife’s and other relatives’ accounts have been blocked.

The bench allowed the petitioner to withdraw up to Rs1 million from the private bank account situated in Islamabad’s Parliament House branch until June 19, while all the other accounts of the petitioner would remain blocked. The SHC ordered the IO to appear in court with the relevant record in the next hearing.