SC forms bench to hear Asghar Khan case

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Saturday formed a bench to the Asghar Khan case. The court has issued a notice to the DG FIA and sought a report from the agency over the issue. On June 2, the Supreme Court had issued notices to 21 people, including politicians and army officials, connected to the Asghar Khan case. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif; politicians Javed Hashmi and Abida Hussain; and retired Lt Gen Asad Durrani are among the group of politicians and army officials being issued legal notices. Officials of National Accountability Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) were also issued notices by the court. In 1996, Air Marshal Asghar Khan had filed a human rights petition in the SC, accusing the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of doling out money to a group of politicians in the 1990s. The case was initiated by the air marshal after Benazir Bhutto's interior minister, retired general Naseerullah Babar, had disclosed in the National Assembly in 1994 how the ISI had disbursed funds to purchase the loyalty of politicians and public figures so as to manipulate the 1990 elections, form the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), and bring about the defeat of the PPP. Sixteen years after the petition was filed, the SC in its judgment – penned by then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry – ruled that the 1990 general elections had been polluted by dishing out Rs140 million to a particular group of politicians only to deprive the people of being represented by their chosen representatives. The court had, however, thrown the ball back to the then PPP government by directing it to take necessary action under the Constitution and law against former army chief Beg and former director general of ISI Durrani for their role in facilitating the group of politicians and political parties to ensure their success against their rivals in the 1990 elections. In May 2017, PTI had announced its decision to file in the Supreme Court a petition seeking implementation of the orders of the already decided case.