Dr Asim did not incriminate Zardari during detention

ISLAMABAD: Contrary to widely-held perception, Dr Asim Hussain, who walked out of detention after an extended ordeal of nineteen months, did not incriminate his boss and close friend Asif Ali Zardari in any alleged wrongdoing.

Rather at every stage during his incarceration, Dr Asim kept vehemently refuting the charges he was accused of including incredibly astounding corruption of Rs462 billion and facilitating terrorists’ treatment at his private hospital in Karachi.

A powerful campaign kept hitting the political landscape immediately after his arrest by the Rangers in August 2015 from the offices of the Sindh Higher Education Commission that as a matter of fact he had been netted to also rein in and implicate Zardari in graft cases to teach him a lesson.

This was voiced not only in relentless powerful whispers but Dr Asim and some Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders loudly publicly articulated more than once that the actual objective was to frame their chief and that the detainee was just a scapegoat.

There is a general view that the bail that the detainee has got from the Sindh High Court (SHC) on health grounds after going through a long rigmarole has weakened at least three cases instituted against him, which relate to corruption and assistance to terrorists for medical attention at his Dr Ziauddin Hospital.

On the face of it, the bail is a jolt to the framers of the accusations against him. Those who got him are required to rethink their strategy to bring some credible and unimpeachable charges against the accused they catch otherwise such a process would be nothing but a farce. This kind of fallout may also dent the public confidence in such actions that are highlighted unprecedentedly when they are taken.

In the first instance, it was the paramilitary force, Rangers, which had nabbed Dr Asim in a startling swoop. For full ninety days, it investigated him and finally handed him over to police, which registered the case of medical attention he allegedly provided to terrorists at his hospital. However, in their investigation police had given him a clean chit. Several eyebrows were raised over what the Rangers had come out after keeping him with it for three months.

After that, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also jumped into action and booked the former minister on corruption charges. His name was placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) to bar his foreign travel that, however, was not possible till the time he was held in custody. Now, he plans to challenge the restriction in the SHC.

It appeared from his general health and the remarks he used to utter in his encounters with media men during his appearances in different courts that he was seriously ill and down with various grave medical problems. He kept demanding treatment of his choice. Certainly, the initial ninety days of his detention were harsh, and the moment he was transferred to police, his suffering eased to some extent. Later, he was shifted to a hospital where he was far better, but still in custody.

Initially, it was the Rangers’ case and the subsequent charges that were brought against him were based on the inquiry of the force. A joint investigation team (JIT) was also later constituted.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has said in a TV talk show that those who arrested and conducted investigations against Dr Asim should review their policies. He doubted the charges against the accused and spoke the language that was music to PPP leaders.

Since word go, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has been harshly harangued by the PPP for his anti-corruption stand as it thought that whatever was happening to its leaders on all counts was because of his direct pressure, intervention and influence.

However, this attack touched new heights after Dr Asim was detained. The federal government has hardly anything to do with the actions taken against Dr Asim. Rather, at different federal higher levels sympathy was expressed with him with the emphasis that he has not been rightly arraigned. However, the central administration refrained from interfering with the actions taken by the Rangers so that the force has no complaint about the targeted operation that it has been conducting for the past few years.

However, at every stage and every level the PPP slammed the federal government referring to Dr Asim’s case. Even after he came out of the detention, Bilawal alleged that the “prisoner of Raiwind” demonstrated extraordinary courage and guts during his incarceration and was never demoralized. “What not was done to him during all these nineteen months?”

Zardari also echoed a similar claim saying that Dr Asim’s audacity defeated the politics of victimization. He and Bilawal apart from several other PPP stalwarts are immensely delighted over Dr Asim’s release on bail. However, the three cases for which he remained behind bars are still there being processed in the concerned courts.