ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the post-arrest bail plea of Afzal Khaliq, alias ‘Double Shah’, in a case related to defrauding people through fake Mudaraba and Musharka schemes on the promise of huge returns.

According to the National Accounta­bility Bureau, Afzal Khaliq defrauded at least 3,540 people and deprived them of over Rs12 billion. He is facing NAB references pending before an accountability court in Peshawar.

Afzal Khaliq’s counsel argued before an apex court bench headed by Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed that his client had been detained in jail for almost four years and he might be released on bail.

The bench dismissed the bail plea with an observation that those who defrauded the public were not entitled to any relief.

As per an interim reference filed by NAB in 2015, Afzal Khaliq, a teacher at a private primary school in the Doaba area of Hangu district, had in connivance with other co-accused cheated the public at large. The accused used 139 agents to lure and collect money from the general public in the grab of a fictitious Mudaraba company —A.K Forex — and deprived 3,540 people of their hard-earned money amounting to Rs7.75bn. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa NAB has already frozen his property worth Rs1.5bn.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2019