Petition filed to transfer Asghar Khan case from FIA to NAB

Lahore: A petition seeking transfer of the Asghar Khan case from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was filed in the Supreme Court. Advocate Sarfraz Hussain moved the petition in the Lahore registry, contending that the Asghar Khan case was the most important case in the country’s political history. “FIA has failed to probe into the case,” he said and pleaded that the corruption watchdog be entrusted with the task to carry out a probe into it afresh. Earlier, on January 5, son of former air chief marshal Ali Asghar Khan said he will not allow closure of the Asghar Khan case over lack of evidence. Khan, who is also the leader of the ruling party said he was ready to plead the case himself. “I have also submitted an application to the registrar of the Supreme Court in this regard. Now I am waiting for a reply.” Last week, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) requested the Supreme Court to close the Asghar Khan case related to alleged distribution of money among politicians, including former premier Nawaz Sharif, to defeat the PPP in the 1990 general elections. The FIA submitted a report to the top court, stating that it does not have enough evidence to proceed against the accused in the case. The politicians who were accused of receiving money denied doing so in their statements, it added. The report said there were gaps and contradiction in the statements of witnesses in the 25-year-old case. There was no record of transactions made through banks, it added. In 1996, Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan had written a letter to the then chief justice of Pakistan Nasim Hassan Shah, alleging that the then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, then army chief General Mirza Aslam Beg, and others had distributed Rs 140 million among several politicians to rig the 1990 polls against Benazir Bhutto. The former air marshal passed away on Jan 5, 2018 after a protracted illness at the age of 97.