The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday disposed of former chief minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah’s pre-arrest bail application in the corruption case.
Top anti-graft body has registered corruption cases against octogenarian Qaim Ali Shah for allegedly abusing his powers while being chief minister of Sindh and allowed 43 acres of land in Brohi Goth, Nazimabad. The former chief minister is also facing charges of massive corruption in Roshan Sindh project initiated by the provincial government for the installation of solar street lights across the province
On Tuesday, Shah along with his counsel Advocate Shah Khawar appeared before the Islamabad High Court’s single-member bench of Chief Justice Athar Minallah to secure pre-arrest bail facility from the court.
At the outset of the hearing, Chief Justice Athar Minallah inquired about the age of PPP stalwart. Responding to the query, Qaim Ali Shah submitted, “I’m 85 years old,”. To this, the chief justice asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor whether the Bureau is serious about nabbing an old man.
The NAB prosecutor submitted that an investigation against the former chief minister is underway, saying at the moment he will not oppose the pre-arrest bail application because the Bureau is not going to apprehend Shah at this stage.
Talking to TLTP soon after adjudication of the matter, Advocate Supreme Court Shah Khawar expressed that the matter in hand has nothing to do with reality, saying his client (Qaim Ali Shah) being chief minister only constituted a higher-level committee to look into the matter pertaining to allocation of land. He said that the former Chief Minister Shah didn’t approve any land allocation, adding no offence made out from the legal action he took in the capacity of chief minister. After a brief hearing of the matter, Chief Justice Athar Minallah disposed of the pre-arrest bail application of former Chief Minister Sindh.
