LAHORE: A special court (Offences in Banks-II) on Friday reserved its verdict on the post-arrest bail petition of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s former leader Hamid Zaman in a ‘foreign’ funding case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Judge Aslam Gondal is likely to announce the verdict on Saturday (today).

The first information report (FIR) alleged that Tariq Shafi as chairman had registered a bogus trust, in the name of ‘The Insaf Trust’, to give an impression that it was a part of the PTI with Ashiq Hussain Qureshi as deputy chairman, Hamid Zaman as general secretary, Manzoor Ahmad Chaudhry and Mubashir Ahmad as trustees. It said the funding received in the trust was used for political campaigns of the PTI.

The agency further alleged that the suspects and Arif Naqvi of Abraaj Group, in connivance with the PTI leadership and others, had committed a fraud.

Zaman was arrested on Oct 7 and remained in the FIA custody for two days before the court sent him on judicial remand. He had contested the 2013 general election from Lahore on the PTI ticket.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2022