ISLAMABAD - Former chairman of Evacuee Trust Property Board Asif Hashmi was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency from the Supreme Court on Thursday in the Trust funds misappropriation case.
Hashmi was ETPB chairman between 2007 and 2013. After completing his tenure he left for Dubai in April 2016 where he was arrested later.
Appearing before a three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, Hashmi thanked the chief justice for summoning him. The bench was hearing a case of allotment of the ETPB’s worth billions of rupees land in Rawalpindi-Islamabad and Lahore to different housing societies.
However, the CJP inquired from him whether he has been declared a proclaimed offender by the court? The CJP then ordered the FIA to take him into custody.
The CJP observed that the ETPB made an illegal agreement by closing its eyes. He said as per the constitution and law the ETPB land could neither be sold nor could be exchanged with other land.
Hashmi contended his innocence, saying the FIA had submitted forged documents in the courts as he did not commit any crime. His counsel told that his client in pursuance of the apex court arrived in Pakistan on last Saturday and voluntarily appeared before the bench.
He further told that Hashmi had obtained interim bails in two cases from Central Judge, Lahore Mohammad Rafiq as the case was pending before him. He also informed that there were six FIRs registered against Hashmi in Lahore, one in Islamabad and two in Karachi.
The chief justice directed the FIA officials to cooperate with the Hashmi’s counsel. DG NAB Bashir Memon informed that there are three cases registered against Asif Hashmi and the NAB has entrusted the cases to FIA.