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KARACHI, June 22: The Sindh High Court granted interim protective bail to another accused in the decrepit aircraft purchase case in the sum of Rs1 million and issued the National Accountability Court a notice for June 29.
Applicant accused Pervez Hussain has been cited as a private beneficiary of the allegedly fraudulent deal along with Rashid Hasan, former director, Corporate Planning, Pakistan International Airlines, and Darius Cyrus Minwala, general sales manager of Cathay Pacific, the airline from which six allegedly unserviceable B-747-300 were purchased. The national airline, according to NAB, suffered a big loss due to the deal, which involved a hefty kickback of $10.5 million shared by the accused.
The applicant’s counsel, Advocate Anwar Tariq, said no offence had been made out by the prosecution against his client. The transaction was made by the competent authorities in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
The division bench comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Mrs Qaiser Iqbal issued a notice to the NAB deputy prosecutor-general for June 29 and barred the applicant’s arrest in the meanwhile.
PEARL CASE: Another division bench consisting of Justices Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari and Faisal Arab adjourned the US journalist Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder case owing to the absence of convicted appellants’ counsel. Only Advocate Khwaja Naveed Ahmed was present for Adil Shaikh, who was awarded life term along with other accused by an anti-terrorism court. Omar Shaikh, the main accused, was sentenced to death.
All the accused challenged their conviction while the prosecution moved for enhancement of the punishment handed down to the co-accused.
SABZAZAR CASE: Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, meanwhile, accepted a city district government plea for urgent hearing of all suits and applications moved by the contractor of the Sabzazar Marriage Lawns, Sharea Faisal. CDGK counsel Manzoor Ahmed said the matter had been pending for years though the plaintiff contractor had no right over the lawns.
The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Officers Association, which had given the lawns on contract, has since cancelled the agreement. KWSB counsel Abrar Hasan supported the plea and called for early hearing. The court fixed June 27 for final hearing of arguments.
