Top ex-officials among four indicted in TDAP graft scam

An anti-corruption case indicted on Thursday three former top officials of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and an alleged frontman of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in a multibillion-rupee corruption scam. 

Former TDAP director general Abdul Kareem Daudpota, former TDAP CEO Tariq Iqbal Puri, former secretary Javed Anwar and Faisal Siddique Khan were indicted for committing corruption of around Rs70 billion. All pleaded not guilty.

The Federal Anti-Corruption Court fixed March 22 to examine statements of prosecution witnesses.

The charges were levelled against them and other suspects by the Federal Investigation Agency in 2013 and 2014. 

During the trial, the four accused were termed companions of Gilani, Pakistan Peoples Party leader and ex-prime minister, who himself is facing dozens of corruption cases pertaining to the TDAP. Gilani and many other defendants are on interim bail.

According to the prosecution, Gilani, Daudpota and some other senior officials of the authority were among many exporters and bank officials accused of embezzlement of export development funds. 

They defendants allegedly caused a great loss to the national exchequer through financial irregularities and bogus export claims on freight subsidies approved by the former PPP government for exporters.

 

Altaf speech cases

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) issued a new non-bailable warrant on Thursday for the arrest of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain, MQM-Pakistan chief Dr Farooq Sattar and other absconders in provocative speech cases.

The defendants that appeared for the hearing of the day included MQM-Pakistan leader Qamar Mansoor and MQM-London leaders Dr Hassan Zafar Arif, Amjadullah and advocate Sathi Ishaq. The court also allowed the plea of Dr Zafar Arif while granting him B-Class facility in prison. 

In one of the provocative speech cases registered at Azizabad Police Station, the court heard arguments of the attorney for Arif, Amjadullah and Ishaq and put off the hearing till March 3 when the special public prosecutor would tender his arguments opposing the bail pleas filed on behalf of the three.

The ATC has been issuing non-bailable arrest warrants against Altaf Hussain, Dr Farooq Sattar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Salman Mujahid, Zahida Begum, advocate Arif, Haider Abbas Rizvi and others in the provocative speech cases. However, police have failed to arrest many of the accused despite their presence in Karachi.

 

Airport attack

Three men — Sarmad Siddiqui, Nadeem alias Burger and Zaheer — recorded their statements at an ATC and denied charges of providing of arms to the 10 terrorists that had attacked the Karachi airport in June 2014.

The three said a fake case had been registered against them, and that portrayed them to be the facilitators of the attackers who had killed six law enforcers. After hearing the pleas of the three accused, the court adjourned the hearing.