SC inquires why military court trials of army officials still pending in Asghar Khan case

• Apex court demands implementation report within four weeks

• Defence ministry directed to provide relevant information to FIA

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the implementation of its judgement in Asghar Khan case with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar warning that military authorities would be summoned if the cabinet’s decision was not executed.

The case was heard by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

“The cabinet had decided military court trial of army officers. Why has the order not been implemented yet?” the CJP asked.

A defence ministry representative answered that the ministry has not yet received the summary of the order from the interior ministry and requested the court to grant him four weeks to submit a detailed report.

The court accepted the request and granted one month.

“No one is above the law. The orders of the court should be implemented,” the CJP observed.

Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) director general apprised the court that Mir Zafarullah Jamal informed the agency via a telephonic conversation that he did not receive any money.

He added that Humayun Murree and Mir Hasil Bizenjo will appear before the court now as they were previously busy with election campaigning.

The defence ministry has been directed by the top court to provide relevant information to the FIA.

The case has been adjourned till the next hearing on September 15.

THE CASE: 

On October 19, 2012, the apex court had issued a 141-page verdict, ordering legal proceedings against Gen (r) Beg and Lt Gen (r) Durrani in a case filed 16 years ago by former air chief Air Marshal Asghar Khan.

Khan, who passed away in January this year, was represented in the Supreme Court (SC) by renowned lawyer Salman Akram Raja.

Khan had petitioned the Supreme Court in 1996 alleging that the two senior army officers and the then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan had doled out Rs140 million among several politicians ahead of the 1990 polls to ensure Benazir Bhutto’s defeat in the polls.

The Islamic Jamhoori Ittihad (IJI), consisting of nine parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League, National Peoples Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, had won the 1990 elections, with Nawaz Sharif being elected prime minister. The alliance had been formed to oppose the Benazir Bhutto-led PPP.

In 1996, Khan had written a letter to the then Supreme Court chief justice Nasim Hassan Shah naming Beg, Durrani and Younis Habib, the ex-Habib Bank Sindh chief and owner of Mehran Bank, about the unlawful disbursement of public money and its misuse for political purposes.

The 2012 apex court judgment, authored by then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, had directed the FIA to initiate a transparent investigation and subsequent trial if sufficient evidence is found against the former army officers.

The investigation is yet to conclude.