Petition filed: SC urged to proceed against PPP

KHUDAYAR MOHLA

ISLAMABAD: A petition filed in Supreme Court on Monday urged the court to proceed against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership for allegedly misusing secret funds of Directorate of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) during 1988-89,1989-90,1993,1994,2007-08 and 2009-10.

The petitioner, Chaudhry Imtiaz Ahmad, filed the petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, through Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz  senior lawyer Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf Gujjar, making federation of Pakistan through Secretary, Cabinet Division, Directorate of Intelligence Bureau (DIB), Secretary, Ministry of Information Technology,   Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of Pakistan, Ch. Nisar Ali Khan (Former Chairman, Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Opposition Leader, National Assembly Secretariat, and others respondents.  

“The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) does not even allow purchasing of vehicles, machinery, computers, furniture, fixture, stationery or any other thing for which a separate head is provided in the budget/accounts books. The secret fund CANNOT be used for any such expenditure in any case except following the SOP,” he added.

The petitioner further prayed the court to declare that Benazir Bhutto, after ascending to the office of Prime Minister in 1988, was guilty of massive corrupt practices and criminal illegalities by appointing a junior and average ranking retired Army Officer Major Masood Sharif Khan (retd), an old class-mate of her spouse, at the helms of affairs of DG DIB, with malafide intentions and to meet her corrupt and ulterior motives.

“She released unprecedented supplementary grant amounting Rs15.284 million (Rs1,52,84,000), in 1988-89, in addition to annual grant of Rs.3.2 million (Rs.32,00,000) in the Budget of 1988-89, which was not even demanded by the DG DIB , for her personal gain, corrupt and malpractices, for advancing her individual and political agenda. He is liable to face the criminal proceedings, disciplinary action, as the case may be and to return the said amount misused individually and collectively,” the petitioner pleaded.

The petitioner contended that Benazir Bhutto, Maj Masood Sharif Khan (retd), Maj-Gen. Naseerullah Babar (Retd), Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Malik Waris Khan, Hanif Khan and Naheed Khan, were “criminally” involved in plundering the national exchequer and were guilty of gross misconduct and hatching conspiracy against the people of Pakistan, Punjab as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, in connivance with each other, as they committed misappropriation, embezzlement and mega-corruption.

He alleged that they conspired to deprive the people of Pakistan, the then NWFP and the AJK to elect their true representative and thus stole the People’s mandate. According to him, they are liable to face the criminal proceedings, disciplinary action, as the case may be and to return the said amount misused by them individually as well as collectively.

The applicant also pleaded to declare that Lt-General Asad Durrani (retd), who had close working as well as personal and cordial relations with Younas Habib, was an actual mastermind behind a conspiracy to obstruct the success of Nawaz Sharif, President, PML, in the general elections of 1993.

He also alleged that Gen. Pervez Musharraf spent a huge amount in 2007-08 to engineer elections with a view to managing and facilitating come-back of Ms. Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari Zardari.

“The present regime led by  Zardari/Gilani drew huge amounts from secret funds in 2008 to conquer Government of Punjab and form PPP’s Government in Punjab during Governor Rule in 2009,” he added.