SUKKUR: The Sukkur accountability court on Tuesday granted permission to senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party, Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, to travel abroad for treatment and directed him to deposit Rs1 million bond as surety with the court.

Khurshid Shah, who is also a federal minister for water resources, is main accused in Rs1.23 billion corruption reference in which 17 others including his two wives, sons, nephew Syed Awais Qadir Shah, who is former provincial minister, and others are co-accused. They face charges of keeping assets beyond known sources of income.

Mukesh Kumar, counsel for Khurshid Shah, said that a medical team consisting of seven doctors previously formed by the court had also submitted its report, which recommended that his client be allowed to travel abroad for treatment for 30 days.

He, therefore, requested the court that his client should be allowed to seek treatment abroad and for that purpose his name should be struck off the Exit Control List.

The judge accepted the counsel’s plea and granted the permission to the accused on medical grounds. Khurshid Shah and MPA Syed Awais Qadir Shah besides others had appeared in the court.

Later, advocate Mukar told media persons outside the court that his client had been constantly losing weight since he was struck by coronavirus in recent past. He was also suffering from other health issues, he said.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2022