Air marshal (retd) Asghar Khan. – File Photo

ISLAMABAD: After remaining silent for two decades, former chief of Mehran Bank Younis Habib came out with startling revelations when he told the Supreme Court that the country’s top military and political leadership forced him to arrange funds for the anti-PPP politicians before the elections in 1990, DawnNews reported.

A three-member Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, on Thursday resumed hearing of a petition filed by Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan pertaining to illegal distribution of funds by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Habib submitted a written statement before the bench, saying that former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, former army chief General Aslam Beg, the then ISI head Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani and Roedad Khan had used him for the purpose.

He said that Ishaq Khan and Beg had asked him to arrange some 400 million rupees to be used for what they called ‘national interest’.

He went on to say that his bank had arranged the said money by opening fake accounts.

Around 140 million rupees were given to the Inter Services Intelligence, the statement further said.

Habib said that the politicians were hesitant in taking money from the ISI therefore he was used for the purpose.

He apologised for being a part of the scandal in his statement and said he was under tremendous pressure and was left with no choice other than to follow the orders.

The chief justice ordered for copies of the statement to be provided to Khan, Beg and Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani, directing them to submit their reply by tomorrow.

Durrani had submitted his reply after receiving the copy of the statement same day. In his reply, he confirmed that he had distributed around 140 million rupees.

Opinion

Editorial

Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...
By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...