FIA requests SC to close Asghar Khan case

Islamabad: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday requested the Supreme Court to close the Asghar Khan case, pertaining to the rigging in 1990 polls.

The FIA submitted a report to the top court in which it said it did not have enough evidence for a criminal investigation into the case.

The witnesses’ statements do not corroborate with each other and many politicians refused to record their written statements, said the report. It also said it could not obtain the complete records from the banks. Therefore, it asked the top court to close the case.

The case, filed in June 1996 by Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan, who passed away on January 5 this year, involved allegations that money was distributed to the politicians to create the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad and stop the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from coming into power in 1990. The air marshal had said an alliance of nine parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), National Peoples Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, received money from the establishment before the 1990 elections.

The funds were allegedly provided by Younus Habib, the then chief executive officer of Habib Bank Limited (HBL), which was a government-run bank at the time.

The FIA had launched its investigation into the case at the end of 2013, almost a year after the Supreme Court ordered an investigation into the distribution of Rs 140 million to thwart the PPP, which was then led by Benazir Bhutto.

On August 11 of this year, the Supreme Court asked the FIA to submit a progress report in the case. It had issued notices to the respondents, including former premier Nawaz Sharif.

On June 9, Nawaz Sharif and JI head Sirajul Haq submitted their written replied in the case. Rejecting the allegations that his party received Rs3.5 million from the ISI in 1990, Nawaz said he did not receive any money from the agency to run the election campaign.