ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stalwart Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah in the assets beyond means case.
A bench of the apex court comprising of Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah heard the bail application. Khursheed Shah was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in September 2019 under corrupt charges. The bench directed him to submit surety bonds worth Rs10 million in court.
The bench also directed the NAB to continue its inquiry in the case adding that there was no justification to keep the veteran politician behind the bars. The court also ordered to keep the name of Khursheed Shah in the exit control list (ECL).
During the hearing, Shah’s lawyer informed the court that NAB had filed a reference against the PPP leader based on twelve properties and five bank accounts.
Justice Bandial questioned NAB’s counsel on the number of witnesses whose statements had been recorded so far in the case. The counsel informed the court that the investigation had been completed. Following the conclusion of the arguments from both sides, the apex court ruled there were no “concrete reasons” to keep Shah in custody.
Syed Khursheed Shah, his two sons, and wives are among 18 indicted in Rs1.24 billion assets beyond means NAB reference. Shah spent over two years in detention after being arrested by the NAB’s Sukkur chapter on September 18, 2019.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the PPP leader on obtaining bail from the apex court. “It is about time the drama of so-called accountability based on political revenge and baseless allegations was wound up. Hope Shah Sahib will play his full role in the politics of the country,” he said.
