NAB failed to justify Khursheed Shah’s custody: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday accepted the post-arrest bail of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah in a case regarding accumulation of assets beyond known sources of income.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) could not provide any justification for keeping Khursheed Shah in custody for two years. A two-member bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Umer Ata Bandial and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, heard the post-arrest bail plea filed by Syed Khursheed Shah.

The court granted bail to the PPP leader on surety bond of Rs10 million and held that the anti-graft body could not provide any justification for keeping him in custody. The court observed that despite keeping the petitioner in custody for two years, the NAB could not provide any proof of allegations of corruption against him.

Justice Umer Ata Bandial observed that the anti-graft had claimed that the petitioner had gone abroad 40 times; however, NAB had no details about the money spent on these foreign trips. During the course of hearing, the NAB prosecutor could not answer satisfactorily to the queries posed by the court.

On a court query regarding delay in filing the reference against the petitioner,NAB prosecutor submitted that it was not filed due to the strike of lawyers in Sukkur. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked about the volume of properties on which the anti-graft filed reference against the petitioner.

At this, Makhdom Ali Khan, counsel for Syed Khursheed Shah informed the court that the NAB made an allegation of corruption against his client for purchasing 574 acres of agriculture land.

The learned counsel further submitted that the NAB filed a reference against the petitioner for holding 12 properties and five bank accounts. Makhdom Ali Khan contended that the notification of collector had confirmed the price of purchase and sale deed of 574 acres of land.

Earlier, at the start of the hearing, NAB prosecutor told the court that the investigation against the accused had been completed, however, reference could not be filed due to the strike of lawyers.

He further submitted that Syed Khursheed Shah had gone abroad 40 times while his family had also made 100 foreign tours.

Justice Umer Ata Bandial asked NAB prosecutor about the allegations against the petitioner and how many allegations had been proved against the petitioner during the investigation. “The petitioner was kept in custody for over two years, however, the NAB had not yet proved any allegation against the petitioner,” Justice Bandial observed.

“Whether the anti-graft has only one prove that the petitioner had gone abroad forty times,” Justice Bandial questioned adding that the petitioner was not a poor man and he had mentioned that he had Rs370 million in cash.

The NAB could not answer satisfactorily to the court queries regarding the expenditure incurred on foreign tours of the petitioner but contended that the accused had not provided proper documents in this regard.

At this Justice Umer Ata Bandial observed that it was the job of the NAB to calculate the expenditure incurred on the foreign trips instead of seeking it from the petitioner. “When the accused was in your custody how he could provide you the relevant documents”, Justice Bandial asked the prosecutor, adding that a person in custody could not ask someone on phone to take the documents from a cupboard and bring that.

Counsel for Syed Khursheed Shah on a query told the court that 1,039 barren acres of land was bought by Abdul Sattar Pirzda, farther of Abdul Hafeez Pirzada in 1979 on Rs80,000 and sold in 1982 which was later on bought by Syed Khursheed Shah which is being irrigated through lift irrigation system.

Meanwhile, the court after hearing to the arguments of the counsels for the parties accepted the post-arrest bail of Syed Khursheed Shah but held that his name would remain on the Exit Control List (ECL).

The court, however, held that the petitioner could approach the accountability court for removing his name form the ECL. It is pertinent to mention here that the NAB had arrested Syed Khursheed Shah on September 18, 2019 and had filed a reference of Rs1.30 billion against him. The anti-graft body also nominated spouse of Syed Khursheed Shah, two sons and a nephew in the said reference.