KARACHI: Makhdoom Amin Fahim, former commerce minister and central leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, was given protective bail on Wednesday by the Sindh High Court in a multi-billion rupees scandal in the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, gave him pre-arrest bail in the sum of Rs1 million till July 10.

Advocate Farooq H. Naek moved the pre-arrest bail application on behalf of the former minister who was scheduled to arrive in Karachi to participate in the funeral of his elder brother Makhdoom Naveed-uz-Zaman.

The counsel requested the court to grant Mr Fahim protective bail enabling him to attend the funeral rites of his elder brother, Makhdoom Naveed-uz-Zaman, and surrender in trial court.

He apprehended that the former minister would be arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency or other law enforcement agencies on his arrival.

Advocate Naek said that his client wanted to surrender before the trial court; therefore, he be allowed protective bail.

Earlier, the central anti-corruption court on June 2 granted bail to the former prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, in 12 different cases made out of the multi-billion rupees scam in the TDAP.

Cases against the two PPP leaders, some former and serving senior officials of the TDAP and others were registered by the FIA for their alleged involvement in approving and disbursing fraudulent trade subsidies of millions of rupees to several fake companies through fictitious claims and backdated cheques.

Former deputy secretary to the Prime Minister’s Secre­tariat Mohammad Zubair, Farhan Junejo, Faisal Siddique, Mehr Haroon Rasheed, Mian Tariq, Zafar Hussain, Noman Siddiqui, Syed Mohibullah Shah and others were shown absconders in the charge-sheet.

Termination restrained

Meanwhile, another bench restrained the provincial authorities from terminating the services of 32 employees of the information technology department.

The order came on a petition filed by Akram Bashir and others represented by Advocate Zamir Hussain Ghummro.

The counsel informed the bench that the petitioners were employed in the project of computerisation of PRC (permanent resident certificate) and domicile. He said that the IT department terminated their services in violation of services rules.

He asked the court to restrain the respondents from relieving the petitioners from services.

After preliminary hearing of the petition, the bench issued notice to the provincial authorities to file their comments on the matter and put off the hearing to July 14.

The bench also restrained the irrigation secretary from implementing any recommendation of the departmental promotion committee in promotion of sub-engineers from grade-16 to 17.

The bench was seized with the constitutional petition of Noor Mohammed, a sub-engineer, who questioned the seniority list of the department. The petitioner said that his seniority was not considered from the date of his appointment on the seniority list. He said that departmental promotion committee on the basis of that list recommended promotions of sub-engineers.

He asked the court to declare the DCP recommendation illegal.

The bench directed the chief secretary, irrigation secretary and others to file their respective comments on the petition and adjourned the hearing to July 27.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014