SHC blasts NAB's prosecution, investigation in Agha Siraj bail hearing

KARACHI: Sindh High Court on Monday expressed dissatisfaction over the arguments of the NAB prosecutor and investigation officer while hearing bail petitions of Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani and others, ARY News reported.

“Do you only depend on the details offered by the accused,” Justice Omar Sial asked the National Accountability Bureau’s prosecutor.

“If you have to only depend on the accused, then he calls himself innocent also accept this too,” Justice Sial remarked.

NAB prosecutor informed the bench that Agha Siraj Durrani has presented details of his assets since 1985.

“Why you don’t verify the details of assets yourself,” the bench asked.

The prosecutor failed to provide satisfactory answers to the questions asked by the court.

“The NAB dangles someone if it wants and leaves another if wishes”, the bench blasted the accountability bureau. “The NAB prosecution has utterly failed,” the bench added.

The prosecutor pleaded to the court for more time to get prepared for the case.

The bench ordered the prosecutor to appear before the court with preparation and adjourned the hearing till Oct 28.

Agha Siraj Durrani has been in jail in NAB reference about assets beyond known sources of income.

The NAB named 20 persons including Agha Siraj as accused in the reference filed in accountability court Karachi.

According to the NAB charge-sheet the accused were involved in corruption of upto 1.6 billion rupees.

The NAB executive board had approved filing of a reference against Agha Siraj Durrani in assets case.

The NAB Karachi had arrested Agha Siraj Durrani from a hotel in Islamabad in February this year.