KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday granted interim pre-arrest bail till June 18 to former director general of the Gorakh Hills Development Authority (GHDA) Nasir Abbas Soomro, who is facing an inquiry into alleged embezzlement of funds.

The court also issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau and its special prosecutor for the next hearing and directed the petitioner to cooperate in the investigation.

Mr Soomro through his lawyer moved the court for pre-arrest bail contending that NAB had issued him call-up notices over allegations of corrupt practices and embezzlement of funds during his tenure as the GHDA director general and special secretary of home department.

The counsel submitted in court his client held the position of the GHDA director general from August 2017 to August 2019, adding that there had been no wrongdoing on his part. He said his client apprehended his arrest over the allegations.

The lawyer further maintained that identical notices were also issued to other former and serving officials of the GHDA by NAB and they had already obtained interim pre-arrest bail from the high court and sought a similar concession.

The two-judge bench headed by Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed in its order said: “Without for the time being, touching the merits of the case, the petitioner is admitted to interim pre-arrest bail subject to furnishing solvent surety in the sum of Rs500,000 and execution of P. R. Bond in the like amount to the satisfaction of the nazir of this court”.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2021