Hearing of graft case against Dr Asim adjourned

An accountability court adjourned on Saturday the hearing of the Rs462 billion corruption reference former federal minister Dr Asim Hussain till January 14.

The court adjourned the hearing after the investigation officer of the case said the former minister could not be produced because his surgery. The other accused were present in the court. The court preferred to adjourn the hearing without recording the evidence of any witnesses till January 14. Five witnesses are due to record their statements. 

A close aide of former president Asif Ali Zardari, the former petroleum minister was booked by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) along with five other accused.

Six accused, including Dr Asim, were indicted in the case in May, 2016, and all of them had pleaded not guilty. The court had then ordered the prosecution to bring evidence against the accused on record. 

Besides Dr Asim, the other accused include former petroleum and natural resources secretary Ejaz Chaudhry, Karachi Docks Labour Board’s former CEO Safdar Hussain, Karachi Development Authority’s ex-directors Syed Athar Hussain and Masood Haider Jaffery, and Ziauddin group’s finance director Abdul Hameed.

The former minister was also booked in another case pertaining to the provision of medical treatment and shelter to criminals and terrorists at his hospitals. His co-accused in the case include city mayor Waseem Akhtar, other MQM leaders Rauf Siddiqui and Saleem Shehzad as well as Anis Qaimkhani – now a leader of the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), Pakistan People’s Party’s Qadir Patel and Pasban’s chief Usman Moazzam.