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RAWALPINDI: A local court of Rawalpindi on Monday sent retired naib tehsildar Najaf Hameed, brother of former ISI director general Faiz Hameed, to Adiala jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
Mr Najaf, along with co-accused persons, had sought pre-arrest bail in the FIR registered with the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in Rawalpindi.
The FIR alleged that former minister for mineral resources Hafiz Ammar Yasir acquired properties worth billions of rupees in the names of benamidars.
The FIR stated that the properties were undervalued in the revenue record in connivance with government officials, inlcuding Najaf Hameed.
The accused persons from the revenue department filed pre-arrest bail petitions before Special Judge of ACE Ali Nawaz Bikhar. The court granted interim bail to the other accused persons except Mr Najaf, as he was not present during the hearing.
Interestingly, Mr Najaf appeared before the court, and then went to a friend in the district courts. Upon his return, he learnt that his bail plea had been dismissed.
His counsel requested the judge to revisit the order, but the judge refused, stating he had no power to review the already announced order.
Mr Najaf was then produced before Senior Civil Judge Waqar Hussain Gondal. His counsel filed a post-arrest bail petition before the ACE court. The judge issued notices and adjourned the hearing till March 20.
Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2024
Malik Asad is an Islamabad-based reporter for Dawn with two decades of experience covering legal affairs, judicial developments, and the civil bureaucracy. He can be found on X at @asadrp.
