Former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain said on Saturday said that he was innocent and was paying price for someone else’s tussle.
Talking to media persons after hearing of a corruption reference worth Rs 462 billion, Dr Hussain said he was not well and was suffering from pain in his back for several days. He said that Ijaz Chaudhry was alleged of signing summaries and not him. “Even Chaudhry is innocent,” he claimed.
Earlier, an accountability court (AC) adjourned the hearing till May 26 after recording statement of a witness and completion of cross-examination.
The witness, Mukhtar Ahmed, is an employee of a company that audits Ziauddin Hospital, the medical facility owned by the accused. Ahmed presented a compilation of audit reports of Ziauddin Hospital from 2005 to 2015.
It may be added that Dr Hussain was nabbed by Rangers in August 2015 from the Sindh Higher Education Commission (HEC) office for allegedly treating terrorists and target killers in his hospital. A case was lodged in North Nazimabad Police Station in November after his 90-day remand expired.
Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a corruption case against him which was followed by another reference in an accountability court. Different sections had seen Dr Hussain’s arrest as an attempt to round up Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership. The accused had stated after arrest that he would never point to the person they want him to point to.