A local court in Islamabad sent the former Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) chairman Zafar Hijazi on a 14-day judicial remand to Adiala Jail on Saturday.

Zafar Hijazi, ex-SECP chief.
Zafar Hijazi, ex-SECP chief.

Hijazi was taken into FIA custody earlier this month after a report released by the joint investigation team, probing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family's wealth, alleged that the former SECP chairman had altered records related to Chaudhry Sugar Mills.

Hijazi was presented before the Senior Civil Judge Muhammad Shabbir after his three-day physical remand with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) ended. The FIA requested the court for a further three-day physical remand which was contested by Hijazi's counsel, Azid Nafees, who argued that his counsel had already been in FIA custody for seven days.

Rejecting FIA's request, the court sent Hijazi to Adiala Jail on a 14-day judicial remand.

A case was registered against Hijazi on the orders of the Supreme Court after the three-member Panama Papers case implementation bench acted on the JIT report.

The first information report against the former SECP chairman was registered under Sections 466 (forgery) and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), read with Section 5(2)(47) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, at FIA's Special Investigation Unit (SIU) in Islamabad.

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