SHC seeks report from chief secretary over delay in approval of probe against PML-N senator

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday directed the chief secretary of the province to submit reasons why an anti- corruption committee meeting could not be held for according approval to an inquiry against a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz senator in a corruption case.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Dr Raheela Magsi against the inquiry being conducted by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE). Dr Magsi has challenged the initiation of the inquiry regarding the awarding of a contract without the fulfilment of codal formalities and misappropriation of millions in the procurement of furniture for the DCO secretariat and district nazim offices.

She submitted that she was being victimised after 12 years by the ruling provincial party soon after a visit of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other PML-N leaders to her residence.

The provincial law officer submitted that the ACE had completed the inquiry against Dr Magsi for illegally purchasing 274 acres of agricultural land in her and family members’ names and causing a huge loss to the national exchequer.

He stated that on the conclusion of the inquiry, the matter had been placed before Anti-Corruption Circle-I for approval of an FIR against the petitioner. However, he said that a meeting of ACC-I had not yet been convened.

A division bench, headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, took notice of the failure of the investigation officer to appear and issued a show-cause notice. The court directed the chief secretary to submit reasons under which circumstances the ACC-I meeting could not be held, and adjourned the hearing till March 29.

The court extending the interim pre-arrest bail to the petitioner directed her to appear at next hearing.

JJVL case

The Sindh High Court directed an accountability court to frame charges against former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain and co-accused involved in a multi-billion corruption case regarding awards of illegal contracts to a private company if there was no stay order in the matter and to submit a report on February 26.

Dr Hussain along with others was named as accused in the NAB reference pertaining to the illegal award of contracts to a privately managed gas processing company. The court was hearing the bail applications of the accused who had obtained protective bail in the reference.

NAB had filed the reference on March 5, 2016, regarding the illegal award of contracts to a privately-managed gas processing company, Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited. The investigators alleged that the company was allowed to process gas from five fields in lower Sindh without conducting an open auction, or signing agreements and following other necessary procedures required by the law.

These actions, they maintain, caused a loss of Rs17.338billion to the national coffers. The petitioners’ counsel submitted that NAB had illegally filed the corruption reference against the petitioners by concealing the material facts and evidences.

They said that the accountability court rejected their applications against indictment though the prosecution failed to prove charges against the accused. The court was informed that the trial court had fixed February 24 for the indictment of the accused. The court directed the trial court to frame the charges if there was no stay order in the matter and directed it to submit a report. The court directed the counsel of the petitioners to come prepared at next hearing for arguments on the bail applications.