Two former bankers sentenced to prison terms for corruption

An accountability court (AC) on Tuesday convicted two former private bankers in a corruption case and handed down jail terms of three years and one year.

The private bank, Askari Bank, had filed a corruption reference against its two former employees, Azhar Zahid and Salman Akbar, accusing the duo of plundering millions of rupees. The court, after examining the case facts and hearing the witness testimonies, sentenced Zahid to three years in jail and Akbar to one year in prison. Fines of Rs1.2 million and Rs1 million were also imposed, respectively.   

MNA’s case

A local court fixed July 24 to hear the matter of the disqualification of a former Member of National Assembly (MNA) Farhat Muhammad Khan as his attorney did not show up for yesterday’s hearing. Khan, a leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), faced disbarment over dual citizenship.

The court noted that it was not possible to conduct proceedings with Khan’s attorney absent. The ex-MNA was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and, following the court’s notification, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had also filed a complaint against him. 

It was claimed that Khan had provided wrong information to the ECP at the time of filing of nomination papers for the general elections. Khan has filed an application seeking acquittal from the charges. 

Shahid Hamid case

The ATC hearing the murder case of ex-KESC chief Shahid Hamid adjourned the hearing till July 27. An activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Minhaj Qazi alias Asad, is accused in the case and he is already under detention. He was produced before the judge who conducted the hearing at a court housed at the central prison. The same court has already issued non-bailable warrants against MQM founder Altaf Hussain, Nadeem Nusrat, Sohail Zaidi and others. The court had made it clear that the NBWs would stand forever. Qazi, in his confessional statement, had claimed that he, Saulat Mirza and others had killed Shahid Hamid on the directives of the MQM’s leadership.