Dr Asim Hussain gets FIR registered after being ‘threatened with a firearm’

Former petroleum minister nominates unidentified man in the FIR but claims he had seen the man at the Gulberg police station while in custody there

Released earlier this month after spending around 20 months in prison on corruption charges, former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain on Friday had an FIR registered at the Boat Basin police station against an unknown man for threatening him with a gun.

The Boat Basin police confirmed the registration of an FIR on Dr Asim’s complaint in which he states that he - a resident of Clifton and chairman of the Ziauddin Hospital - was heading towards his lawyer's office near Teen Talwar on April 20 when a man in a Corolla pointed a pistol at him "like he wanted to shoot him".

Fearing for his life, the former minister said he asked his driver to speed up. According to his complaint, there were four men in the Corolla but a second car – a double cabin with tinted windows – had initially pulled up beside Dr Hussain’s car. 

However, the suspects turned towards the Punjab Chowrangi after Dr Hussain's security squad came up behind his car.

In the FIR, Dr Hussain has claimed that he recognised the man holding the gun, having seen him at the Gulberg police station while in custody there. However, the former petroleum minister could not recognise the registration numbers of both the vehicles.

Citing threats to his life, Dr Hussain has demanded legal action against those who were chasing him and also requested increased security. 

A close aide of former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Dr Hussain faces corruption references pertaining to land fraud amounting to Rs9.5 billion, money laundering of Rs3 billion, and misuse of authority and criminal breach of trust through a fertiliser scam of Rs450 billion.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also accused him of illegally awarding gas contracts to a privately-managed gas processing company, Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited, to process gas from government-owned gas fields without an open auction, causing a loss of Rs17.338 billion to the national exchequer.

He was also accused of providing treatment and shelter to criminals at his hospitals on behest of leaders belonging to various political parties.

The Sindh High Court on March 29 had approved the bail plea of the former petroleum minster in the corruption cases against him.

The SHC’s referee judge on March 20th had reserved his judgement. The referee judge had to be appointed after a split verdict by an SHC division bench on the bail issue.