Assets, money-laundering inquiry: Kh Asif moves LHC for post-arrest bail

LAHORE: Former defence minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Khwaja Muhammad Asif Saturday moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) for post-arrest bail in an inquiry of assets beyond means and money-laundering, initiated against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

NAB had arrested him from Islamabad on Dec 29, 2020 and later shifted to Lahore where he remained on physical remand till Jan 22, 2021. The former minister is a sitting MNA from NA-73, Sialkot.

The bail petition filed through Barrister Haider Rasul Mirza stated that the petitioner, during the 22-day physical remand with NAB, had not been confronted with any direct or circumstantial evidence, which could prove owning of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

It said mere ownership of a property did not constitute an offence under Section 9(a)(v) of the National Accountability Ordinance.

The counsel said the petitioner had already provided NAB with an explanation of various sources of income justifying the acquisition of the assets owned and possessed by him.

It argued that the onus to prove the allegations of owning any illegal asset was on the prosecution, which failed to establish its case.

The petition contended that no recovery had been made from the petitioner that could connect him with the allegations of corruption as alleged in the grounds of his arrest. It asked the court to release the petitioner on bail.

A two-judge bench would hear the petition on Monday.

NAB alleged that Asif failed to explain the sources of his income and assets. It said the suspect was first elected as a senator in 1991 when his assets were around Rs5 million. It said the assets of the suspect swelled to Rs221 million by 2018, which were beyond his known sources of his income.