Islamabad - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) yesterday granted another protective bail to former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani who has alleged involvement in a mega scam of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).
The Islamabad High Court has earlier granted protective bail to the former prime minister in eight cases against the surety bonds worth of Rs 100,000 in each case, and the latest bail orders were issued by a single bench of IHC comprising Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi. The court has granted granted protective bail for 7 days to Gilani in the 9th case.
On Wednesday, Gilani reached the court accompanying his counsel Farooq H Naek, former Governor Punjab Lateef Khosa and his son Abdul Qadir Gillani. His counsel contended before the court that his client is being politically victimised and 21 cases have been registered against him under the same allegation that is mala fide.
Naek argued that there were some new cases to be registered against his client Gillani and he may be provided with relief in these cases as well.
At which the court said how the court could provide a relief when no case is filed before it.
Then, the IHC bench granted protective bail to Gilani in the 9th case against Rs 100,000 surety bonds.
After court proceedings, Gillani talking to the media said that the federal government has adopted a discriminatory attitude and only one political party is facing character assassination.
He also said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has always respected the judiciary and it will keep doing so. Gilani said that baseless cases were registered against him but the court had granted him protective bail in the 9th case while some five to six new cases were also to be registered against him.
The former PM said that Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raided his Multan residence and harassed his servants. “National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is also forming baseless cases against me,” added Gilani.
He said that his party leaders Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto faced the cases and now, he would also prove their innocence.
Former Governor Punjab Sardar Lateef Khosa said that NAB has submitted a list of cases before the Supreme Court of Pakistan where Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar are at top of the list.
It is discriminatory attitude towards PPP that only this party has been targeted, Khosa said.
He continued that 17-year-old cases were reopened against Asif Ali Zardari while in Lahore 2,600 plots measuring 2 Kanal each were distributed and nobody took notice of it.
Farooq H Naek while talking to the media said that FIA has been ridiculing the law. There is only single allegation against his client that a deputy secretary Muhammad Zubair collected Rs 5 million rupees for Yousaf Raza Gillani while this statement of Muhammad Zubair has been obtained after torture.
Naek said that such baseless cases should not be formed as these bring ignominy to the country.
Yousaf Raza Gillani is an accused in Trade Development Authority of Pakistan scandal.
TDAP scandal is related to approving and disbursing fraudulent trade subsidies of billions of rupees to several fake companies through fictitious claims and backdated cheques. The FIA has registered cases against Yousaf Raza Gilani, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, and some former and serving senior officials of the TDAP.