An anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge on Saturday reserved judgement on the petition filed by Begum Sehba Musharraf against the confiscation of all properties and bank accounts of former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf after he was declared absconder in Benazir Bhutto murder case. ATC No 1 Judge Shahid Rafiq reserved the judgement after hearing the arguments by lawyers. During the hearing, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutors Chaudhry Azhar and Chaudhry Zulfikar submitted a circular issued to all banks by the State Bank of Pakistan, according to which accounts for welfare purposes could not be considered personal accounts.
They said that the former first lady had pleaded that the said accounts were meant for welfare works, and that the amount was reserved for flood affected people. The prosecutors also maintained that there was no proof that Shahzad Town Palace had been gifted to Begum Sehba Musharraf. Furthermore they pointed out that the court had given its opinion that the accused could not be given any relief until he surrenders before the court. When contacted, Sehba’s lawyer Mohammad Ilyas Siddiqui said that there had been no arguments before the court in his presence. He said that according to his information, the court had given a date for next hearing. Meanwhile, the FIA has written a second letter to Interpol to get its “red warrants” implemented against the former president. According to FIA officials, the warrant was issued earlier after he was declared a proclaimed offender in BB’s assassination case.
Earlier, Interpol had sent a questionnaire to the FIA after receiving a request to issue a red warrant against Musharraf. The FIA has also sent available evidence against Musharraf along with the letter.
