- Judge orders FIA to present Hijazi on July 26
Senior Civil judge Muhammad Shabbir on Saturday approved a four-day physical remand of Zafar Hijazi, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
The judge ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to present the SECP chief in court on July 26. On Saturday, Hijazi was diagnosed with a kidney infection soon after he was arrested by the FIA on Friday after Special Judge Tahir Mehmood cancelled his bail.
The result of Hijazi’s heart exercise tolerance test (ETT) was positive, however, he was shifted to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) for treatment of his kidney infection, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital vice chancellor said.
Another round of medical tests will be conducted after 24-hours. Earlier on July 17, a lower court granted a five-day pre-arrest bail to Hijazi against two surety bonds worth Rs250,000 each after the SECP chief filed for a pre-arrest bail as per Section 498 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Pakistan, citing medical grounds as the basis for the request.
An FIA inquiry team had found Hijazi guilty of tampering the records of companies owned by the Sharif family and recommended registering a First Information Report (FIR) against him. The team submitted a 28-page inquiry report to the Supreme Court on July 9, in which it endorsed the stance of the JIT members in connection with the Panama case.
Hijazi’s lawyer had argued in court that SECP staffers did not tamper records of Chaudhry Sugar Mills under duress.
