NAB’s wheat distribution and money laundering inquiries: SHC grants interim bail to Nisar Khuhro

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday granted pre-arrest interim bail to Pakistan People’s Party leader and Chief Minister’s Sindh Adviser Work and Services Nisar Ahmed Khuhro in two National Accountability Bureau’s inquiries pertaining to release of wheat stock against unsecured guarantees and money laundering charges.

Nisar Khuhro, who also remained the opposition leader, speaker Sindh Assembly as well as the food minster, moved the SHC for obtaining protective pre-arrest bail in connection with two NAB inquiries being initiated against the food department officials and Nisar Khuhro for release of wheat to mill owners through unsecured guarantees and money laundering charges. The NAB call-up notices had sought replies from Khuhro with regard to release of wheat on credit against unsecured guarantees of post-dated cheques to the mill owners by causing huge loss to the national exchequer.

In another call-up notice, the NAB had sought details of source of income and expenditure from 2017 to 2019 as Rs.47.9 million were recorded in Khoro’s bank account wherein US$70,000 were transferred to different individuals in USA during April 2017 to April 2018.

Petitioner’s counsel Farooq H Naek submitted in the petitions that NAB had issued call-up notices to Khuhro with regard to the NAB inquiries and there was no iota of evidence against him in the inquiries. He submitted that NAB had deliberately and with malafide ignored the fact that the petitioner was a landowner and possessed declared agriculture income, which was also declared in his tax return years from 2017-19. He submitted that the petitioner apprehended arrest at the hands of NAB officials with malafide intentions.

The SHC’s division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha, after preliminary hearing of the petitions, granted interim pre-arrest bail to Nisar Khoro with surety of Rs.1 million and issued notices to special prosecutor NAB and deputy attorney general for November 11.