Pakistan People’s Party leader and close aide of former president Asif Ali Zardari, Dr Asim Hussain, was produced in an anti-terrorism court (ATC-II) on Tuesday and he was sent on a judicial remand after having been released by police on December 11.
Adjourning the matter till Dec 30, the court also ordered that copies of all prosecution documents, including statements of witnesses, be handed over to Dr Hussain in compliance with Section 265-C of the Criminal Procedure Code.
But Dr Hussain, who was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Dec 11, is on physical remand with the anti-graft body till today and will remain in the NAB custody until he is presented in an accountability court.
The NAB has reportedly launched investigations into references against Dr Hussain for illegal affiliation of colleges with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, issuance of licences for dozens of CNG stations and other corrupt practices.
Dr Hussain was re-arrested by police on Monday in a case relating to terrorists’ treatment and harbouring after the Sindh High Court threw out a report for his release and sent the case for trial.
The judge disagreed with the report submitted by DSP Altaf Hussain, the second investigation officer (IO) in the case, and observed that he was not “legally justified to release accused Dr Asim Hussain.”
The judge observed that prima facie there is sufficient incriminating evidence/material against Dr Asim Hussain and other accused persons to connect them to the case.
In his report, the IO claimed that no evidence had been found against Dr Asim during the investigation.
The arrest of Dr Hussain, chairman of the Sindh Higher Education Commission, came on August 26 and was described as the first major action against PPP leaders during the ongoing Karachi operation.
Following the end of his 90-day preventive detention with Rangers, police sought multiple extensions in his remand for further questioning and collection of evidence in a case relating to treatment and sheltering of terrorists.
After police released him on December 11, he was arrested by the NAB from the court’s premises and an accountability court later remanded him to the anti-graft body’s custody until he was arrested by the police again on Monday.
