Asghar Khan case: SC adjourns hearing after Sharif fails to appear in court

The Supreme Court (SC) adjourned on Wednesday the Asghar Khan case till next week after deposed Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif failed to appear before the court.

Once the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar resumed the court proceedings, he asked the whereabouts of Sharif. He ordered the ousted PM to appear before the court within one hour. Whereas, Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz leader Javed Hashmi was present in the court.

When the three-time premier Sharif still did not comply to the court orders, the CJP adjourned the court proceedings and ordered everyone named in the case to submit a written reply within a week, local media reported.

During the hearing today, the CJP took back the notice issued to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Khursheed Shah and said that it was wrongly sent.

SC summons Nawaz in Asghar Khan case

On Thursday, the SC summoned Sharif, including 30 others, in the Asghar Khan case to appear before the court today. The notices were issued to political figures including Hashmi, Jam Mashooq, Ajmal Khan, Afaq Ahmed, Siraj ul Haq, Khursheed Shah, Ghulam Mustafa Khar and others.

Former Air Chief Air Marshal Asghar Khan filed petitioned the SC in 1996 against former Army Chief (retd) General Mirza Aslam Beg and ex-Inter Service Intelligence Chief Lt-General (retd) Asad Durrani. Khan, who passed away in January this year, was represented in the top court by lawyer Salman Akram Raja.

In the petition, Khan alleged that Beg and Durrani, along with the then President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan, distributed Rs140 million among several politicians ahead of the 1990 elections to pre-rig the polls and ensure Benazir Bhutto's defeat in it.

The amount was allegedly provided by Younas Habib, who at that time was the chief executive officer of Habib Bank Limited, which used to be a government bank. Among the many names of the politicians included Sharif’s, who was accused of receiving Rs3.5 million.

On October 19, 2012, the apex court issued a 141-page verdict, ordering legal proceedings against Beg, Durrani and others involved. Beg and Durrani had recently appeared before Federal Investigation Agency probe committee while several involved in the case had rejected the allegation.