Asghar Khan case reopened again

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the review petitions of former army chief Gen (retd) Mirza Aslam Beg and former ISI head Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani against the implementation of its order passed in 2012 in the famous Asghar Khan case.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Umer Ata Bandial and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan dismissed the review petitions after hearing the arguments. “We have not found any weight in the arguments presented by the learned counsels for the petitioners,” the chief justice ruled.

Chief Justice Nisar remarked, "If the court accepts the review petitions, the verdict will stand null and void," and added that the court would fix responsibility for the failure to implement the verdict, which was passed six years ago.

The court, however, took a strong exception to not implementing the judgment and directed the attorney general as well as DG FIA Bashir Memon to submit a detailed report as to what steps had so far been taken by the government for implementing the judgment.

In 1996, Asghar Khan had filed a petition in the Supreme Court, accusing the ISI of doling out money to a group of politicians in the 1990s.

In 1994, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former interior minister Lt-Gen (retd) Naseerullah Khan Babar had revealed in the National Assembly as to how the ISI disbursed funds to purchase the loyalty of politicians and public figures so as to manipulate the 1990 elections, form the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), and to defeat the PPP.

Later, in 2012, the Supreme Court, headed by the then chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, after hearing the instant case delivered the judgment with a ruling that the 1990 general elections were subjected to corruption by dishing out some Rs140 million to a particular group of politicians only to deprive the people of being represented by their chosen representatives.

The court had directed the authorities to initiate legal proceedings against Durrani and Beg. Both the military officials, however, had filed a review petition against the judgment. On Monday, the wife and son of Asghar Khan as well as the two petitioners were alsopresent in the courtroom.

Shah Khawar appeared before the court and represented Durrani, while Beg himself read out his formulations. Salman Akram Raja, the counsel for Asghar Khan, read out some of the parts and paras relating to the directions of the court, it had announced in the 2012 judgment.

He replied in negative when the chief justice asked him whether any step has been taken so far by the incumbent government for the implementation of the judgment. Raja, while quoting the judgment, said the court had held that the 1990 general elections were rigged and had ordered action against former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

He contended that the apex court judgment also declared 'illegal' the role of Durrani and Beg, while Younus Habib of Mehran Bank had also been made a party. Meanwhile, the court directed the attorney general to submit his report. Later, the FIA chief appeared before the court and gave details about the steps taken by the government.

He said the authorities had so far recorded statements of 18 people, while 12 others, who were supposed to be probed, had since passed away. He said that 190 clips of video evidence had also been acquired. The DG FIA submitted that Rs140 million had been deposited in six benami accounts and a total of 15 accounts were under investigation. The chief justice, however, asked Memon to submit the entire details today (Tuesday) and adjourned the hearing.