A day after former President Asif Zardari’s close aide made startling revelations in a confessional video, Dr Asim Hussain’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor alleged his client was either forced or drugged to make the claims.
Talking to the media on Thursday, Dr Asim’s counsel Mansoor said, “Dr Asim does not recall anything about his confession.”
“He could have been drugged or forced to give the statements,” he added. Mansoor also cited the possibility of his medicines for his various health problems being withdrawn.
Further, he said the video appears to have been recorded when Dr Asim was under the Rangers custody.
The former federal petroleum minister’s confessional video made rounds on the social media. In the video, Dr Asim accused Zardari’s foster brother of being involved in “all kinds of corruption” during the Pakistan Peoples Party’s current government in Sindh.
“I did not know Owais Muzaffar before,” Dr Asim said. The 80-second long clip, apparently cut out from a longer video, went viral on the social media and was screened on several television channels.
In the video, Dr Asim is seen wearing a white shalwar kameez and sitting on a solitary chair in the room. During the short clip, he talks particularly against Muzzafar.
“When the second (PPP) government (in Sindh) came to power, he (Muzaffar) came to the fore and became the virtual CM,” Dr Asim claims, adding that Muzaffar was raised by Zardari’s mother.
However, denying the authenticity of the confession, Mansoor said, “Signing confessional documents before a magistrate does not suffice as confession.”
