Pak SC livid over statements in 'ISI bribing politicians' case going missing from court

Islamabad, Mar 1 (ANI): Pakistan Supreme Court has expressed surprise that statements vital in recommencing hearing of the long pending petition of former Air Marshal Asghar Khan about the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) bribing politicians, were missing.

As the Supreme Court began open and transparent proceedings, it was amazed that statements of the main characters recorded earlier during in-camera hearings were missing.

A three-judge SC bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Mohammad Arif and Justice Tariq Parvez which took up the case asked the court's office to dig out from the record statements of former army chief Aslam Beg, former ISI director general Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani and former interior minister late Maj-Gen (retd) Naseerullah Khan Babar and place them before the court on March 8 in a sealed envelope.

But the statements were not presented by the office on Wednesday, The Dawn reports.

In 1996, Asghar Khan, who had formed the Tehrik-i-Istiqlal, had filed the constitutional petition in the Supreme Court requesting it to look into allegations that the ISI had financed several politicians during the 1990 elections to create the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) and prevent Benazir Bhutto's PPP from winning.

The ISI had allegedly paid Rs 140 million for the purpose.

In response to the petition, Lt-Gen Asad Durrani submitted an affidavit in the court, giving details of the amount he had authorised to be paid among politicians allegedly on the directive of former army chief Aslam Beg.

Advocate Salman Akram Raja, the counsel for Asghar Khan, informed the court that Rs60 million had also been given to the 'K fund' and Rs20 million to the Directorate of External and Operations of the ISI. (ANI)