SC resumes hearing on Asghar Khan’s plea today

A three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will today (Wednesday) resume hearing on a petition filed by Air Marshall (r) Asghar Khan some 16 years ago against the distribution of million of rupees by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to anti-PPP politicians to influence the 1990 general election.
The other members of the bench are Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez. The petitioner will appear in-person along with his lawyer Habibul Wahabul Khairi. Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq will also appear on notice.
Senior advocates Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Habibul Wahabul Khairi and Muhammad Akram Sheikh, as well Salman Akram Raja and others, including former army chief Mirza Aslam Beg will also be appearing.
Top legal brains and politicians believe that the case would have irrevocable effects on the forthcoming general elections, besides shaking everyone from the top to bottom in the executive and military establishments. In June 1996, a human rights petition was filed by Asghar Khan with the Supreme Court making the retired chief of army staff General Mirza Muhammad Aslam Beg, former ISI DG Lt General (r) Asad Durrani and Younis Habib of Habib and Mehran Bank as respondents.
In his petition, Asghar Khan had asked then chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah to take appropriate action on a statement by then interior minister Maj Gen (r) Naseerullah Khan Babar in the National Assembly that: “The ISI collected some Rs 140 million from the Habib Bank Ltd and distributed among a number of politicians prior to the 1990 elections with a view to manipulate the results in favour of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI)”.
Sajjad Shah was hearing the case when he was shown the door in November 1997 by his fellow judges following a mutiny, allegedly manoeuvred by the then government of Nawaz Sharif. The Asghar Khan case, commonly known as the “Mehrangate” scandal, would particularly dent the political image of the PML-N. Besides, lawyers and politicians, civil society activists and even military men also believe that the repercussions of “Mehrangate” scandal would be much reverberating and more pervasive. In his petition, Asghar Khan had sought punishment for all politicians who had received funds from the ISI.
He had alleged that Rs 140 million were distributed among politicians during the regime of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan to manoeuvre the 1990 elections.
The funds were only given to right-wing politicians who would go on to form the IJI, an alliance pitched against the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The IJI was the final nail in ensuring the formation of the PML government headed by Nawaz Sharif.
Affidavits and evidence submitted by respondents before the court and first-hand accounts from the beneficiaries – so far substantiate the allegations that the ISI did give funds to elements within the IJI.
However, the most important issue after ascertaining guilt is to figure out the options available to the Supreme Court to correct this historical wrong.
Questions being asked, albeit in a hushed manner, are whether the court would bar all guilty politicians and parties from contesting future elections, especially since many are still active in politics.
What would be the punishment given to former military bosses who were privy to this exercise and approved its formal operation? And lastly, what possible observation or ruling can the court come up with to deter the ISI and other intelligence agencies from this practice.
Most of the senior lawyers suggest that the court should constitute a high-powered commission not only to investigate the particular incident highlighted by Asghar Khan, but also other incidents in the history of Pakistan where ISI provided money to politicians.
They believe that it would essential for democracy and national security in the future.
The payment of up to Rs 140 million was allegedly made under instructions of Gen (r) Aslam Beg by the ISI via the owner of Mehran Bank, Younis Habib.
Intelligence funds were deposited in Mehran Bank in 1992, propping up what was an insolvent bank as a favour for its owner’s help in loaning money to the ISI in 1990 that was used for the creation of IJI and bankrolling the campaigns of many opponents of the PPP.
In his written reply submitted to the Supreme Court during the tenure of Sajjad Ali Shah and reported by the media, General Aslam Beg had conceded that it had been a routine for the ISI to support favourite candidates in elections under directives of the successive chief executives.
Afterwards, former ISI DG Lt Gen (r) Asad Durrani had conceded in an affidavit submitted with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that his political cell received Rs 140 million from Younis Habib for distribution among anti-PPP politicians at the behest of General Mirza Aslam Beg. The 1990 election was subsequently won by the IJI led by Nawaz Sharif, who had allegedly received Rs 3.5 million from the ISI for his election campaign.