Hafeez Shaikh obtains pre-arrest bail from accountability court

An accountability court granted on Friday pre-arrest bail to former finance minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in a corruption reference. Dr Shaikh has been nominated as one of the co-accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a case related to alleged illegalities committed in the procurement and implementation of a pilot project for the Customs computerised system, causing a loss of $11.125 million to the national exchequer.

The accountability court VI judge, without discussing merits of the case, granted bail before arrest to Shaikh against a surety of Rs100,000. The judge directed him to join the investigation into the case and adjourned the hearing until May 28 for the confirmation of his bail or otherwise.

According to the anti-corruption watchdog, Shaikh, in his capacity as then finance minister, illegally issued directives for engaging in negotiations with a private company after it had threatened to halt the operation of the software system that processed Customs clearance at ports over non-payment of monthly access fees.

He is accused of intentionally ignoring objections raised by senior Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Customs officials and giving the go-ahead to the payment of $11.125 million to the firm on account of monthly access fees.

The former finance minister through his counsel Faisal Siddiqui stated before the court that he wanted to join the trial proceedings but apprehended his arrest at the hands of NAB. He, therefore, pleaded with the court to grant him bail. On May 17, the Sindh High Court had granted Shaikh transitory protective bail, enabling him to appear before the accountability court.