ISLAMABAD: The registrar Supreme Court, on Saturday, raised the objections on the petition of the Sindh provincial Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani for bail. The Sindh Assembly speaker and Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) central leader on November 12 had approached the apex court to avert arrest in a corruption scam.

According the sources, the SC Registrar Office raised objections that the petitioner had not surrendered before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after rejection of his bail plea by the Sindh High Court (SHC), while Durrani in his application has requested for post-arrest bail.

The PPP leader had gone into hiding to avoid his arrest at the hands of the NAB after the SHC dismissed his bail. The SC Registrar Office order further said that the petitioner has also not submitted undertaking with his bail application.

Corruption scam: Sindh PA speaker approaches SC to avert arrest

The high court on October 15, 2021 had dismissed his pre-arrest bail in embezzlement of funds in the project of MPA hostels in Karachi and illegal appointments and out of turn promotions in the Sindh Assembly. The SHC has also dismissed his bail in accumulation of assets beyond his known means of income.

The NAB had filed a reference against Siraj Durrani, his brother Agha Masihuddin Khan, wife, son, daughters as well as 13 others before an accountability court in Karachi in 2019 for allegedly accumulating assets worth over Rs1.61 billion through illegal means.

The NAB had arrested the provincial assembly speaker in February 2019 in a hotel in Islamabad for investigation and a few months later filed a reference against him, his brother Agha Masihuddin Khan, and other family members.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021