Saeed Ahmed's removal as president National Bank justified, IHC rules

ISLAMABAD: The removal of Saeed Ahmed as the president of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) was declared justified by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday.

The high court announced its verdict rejecting the petition of former president NBP against his dismissal from the post of president of NBP.

According to law, the high court observed, a reference was filed against Saeed Ahmed on the allegations of money laundering for former finance minister Ishaq Dar, “considering that the accused should have tendered his resignation himself.”

Moreover, the IHC stated, if the hearing on a money laundering reference is underway against the accused then the high court is helpless; giving a verdict in favor of Saeed Ahmed will not meet the standards of justice, the IHC added.

Declared fugitive in cases pertaining to assets beyond income means a five-member Supreme Court bench had ordered NAB to file a reference against Ishaq Dar.

Along with Saeed Ahmed, Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi, who are directors of Dar’s companies, were nominated as co-accused in the supplementary reference filed against Dar by the NAB. The court on April 5, 2018 had indicted the three accused.

Saeed Ahmed had already filed an application before the court for his acquittal, which was rejected by it.