KARACHI, May 2: A division bench of the Sindh High Court comprising Justice Muhammad Afzal Soomro and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery on Wednesday reserved judgment on a pre-arrest bail application in a reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau.

Muhammad Ishaque Soomro, a government servant, has been charged with fraudulently withdrawing Rs6,621,000 from the National Bank’s main branch in Shikarpur.

Brig (Retd) Shafat Nabi Sherwani, DPGA of NAB, filing comments in the SHC stated that the accused deposited three cheques in his account no 1376-4 in the NBP at Shikarpur in the name of Abdul Qadir. The petitioner managed three respondent branches’ vouchers issued by the NBP Noor Market branch in Karachi under the fake stamp and fake signatures of officers Malik Sultan Mehmood and Shaheen Akhtar.

The DPGA of NAB submitted that the petitioner also confessed the guilt before a magistrate and all witnesses had supported the version of the prosecution about his involvement in corruption and corrupt practices. He also opposed granting bail to the accused on the ground that sufficient evidence was available against him for his involvement in the case.

The petitioner counsel argued that his client had not misappropriated the amount as mentioned in the NAB reference and was falsely implicated in the case.

The SHC's division bench, after hearing the arguments of both counsel, reserved the judgment. The accused is at present in jail custody. — PPI