From Abid Usman
LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday approved bail of former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s principal secretary Fawad Hasan Fawad in illegal assets case. During the hearing, Fawad’s lawyer told the court that his client was arrested in 2018 but no indictment proceeding was carried out against him. The court remarked why National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has not apprehended the three benami suspects in connection with the case until now. The one having nothing on his name was taken into custody, Justice Tariq Abbasi stated. Fawad’s bail was earlier rejected on the basis of investigation but now, a complete reference exposing everything is present in the court, the lawyer stated. Meanwhile, NAB prosecutor said that FawadHasanFawad has used his relatives name to hide the properties. The court asked about the arrest of those possessing all the assets over which, the anti-graft watchdog prosecutor stated that the company having all the assets has nothing in its bank account. Subsequently, the court ordered to release Fawad over surety bond worth Rs1 million. The principal secretary of the former prime minister was arrested on July 5, 2018 in the Ashiyana-i-Iqbal scam. However, later investigations began into his assets beyond known sources of income on August 3, 2018. He was facing charges of accumulating assets worth Rs1089 million with no declared sources of income. The NAB alleged that Fawad had an “illegal” commercial plot of 5-kanal worth Rs500 million (approx) at Haider Road in Rawalpindi with a value of Rs500 million. NAB Lahore Regional Board converted ongoing inquiry against accused Fawad Hassan Fawad into investigations on October 12, 2018 whereby after completing the investigations, a reference was sent to NAB Headquarters for approval from Chairman NAB Justice JavedIqbal and his Executive Board. The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday granted bail to former principal secretary to Prime Minister, Fawad Hassan Fawad in assets case, ARY News reported. The court ordered Fawad to submit Rs. 10 million surety bond in court for his bail. Fawad Hassan Fawad was principal secretary of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Fawad’s counsel AmjadPervaiz in his arguments before a two-member bench of the high court headed by Justice Ali BaqarNajafi, said that his client was arrested without any justification in assets beyond means reference. He said the NAB has failed to present any evidence in support of its charges against his client. The counsel argued that the NAB had earlier claimed that Fawad Hassan Fawad is owner of a plaza worth five billion rupees, “now it is claiming that the accused person’s family owns assets worth Rs. 1.08 billion”. “The bureau is now alleging that the property in the name of his wife and brother are benami assets”, counsel said. In his bail petition to the court Fawad had said, “I have no personal home except the government residence.” “I am imprisoned in jail for last oneand-half year without any crime,” he said. “My health has deteriorated and medical treatment is not possible in jail,” he pleaded and sought the court order for his release on bail from the assets case. Earlier, the former principal secretary to Prime Minister was granted bail by the Lahore High Court on February 15 last year along with former chief minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme case. Meanwhile, Following the bail approval of Fawad Hassan Fawad in illegal assets case, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to challenge the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision in the Supreme Court. According to NAB sources, the anti-graft watchdog will immediately appeal for the cancellation of Fawad’s bail following the approval of NAB chairman Justice Javed Iqbal. It is pertinent to mention that Lahore High Court (LHC) has approved bail of former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s principal secretary Fawad Hasan Fawad in illegal assets case. During the hearing, Fawad’s lawyer told the court that his client was arrested in 2018 but no indictment proceeding was carried out against him. The court remarked why National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has not apprehended the three benami suspects in connection with the case until now. The one having nothing on his name was taken into custody, Justice Tariq Abbasi stated. Fawad’s bail was earlier rejected on the basis of investigation but now, a complete reference exposing everything is present in the court, the lawyer stated. Meanwhile, NAB prosecutor said that Fawad Hasan Fawad has used his relatives name to hide the properties. The court asked about the arrest of those possessing all the assets over which, the anti-graft watchdog prosecutor stated that the company having all the assets has nothing in its bank account. Subsequently, the court ordered to release Fawad over surety bond worth Rs1 million. Reacting to the bail of Fawad Hasan Fawad, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif thanked Almighty Allah and called ex-PM’s principal secretary as an honest, competent and intelligent person. Such kind of patriotic officials are asset of a country, he added.
