Assets beyond means case: Court extends Khursheed Shah's physical remand till Nov 4
On July 31, the anti-corruption watchdog approved an inquiry against him.
SUKKUR (Dunya News) – An accountability court in Sukkur on Monday extended the physical remand of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart Khursheed Shah till November 4 in owning assets beyond means case.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had sought extension in Shah’s physical remand for another 15 days, and produced him in the courtroom amid tight security measures.
During the hearing today, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) head Dr Nadeem Qamar submitted a medical report that mentioned that Shah has been suffering from a heart ailment for the last 20 years.
The medical report further read that Shah has been suffering from blood pressure and breathing problems, and pleaded with the court to immediately shift him to the hospital for medical attention.
In the previous hearing, the court extended his remand till Oct 21. On Oct 1, Shah was remanded in NAB custody for 13 days. On July 31, the anti-corruption watchdog approved an inquiry against him.
Shah, who served as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly during the term of the previous government, was arrested by the bureau from Islamabad.
However, the court had permitted Shah to meet his family members and get home-cooked food while in custody.
A large number of PPP workers, including his son, MPA Syed Farukkuh Shah, his son-in-law and nephew, provincial minister Syed Owais Qadir Shah, MPA Manzoor Wasan, Sukkur Mayor Arslan Islam Shaikh, and others had gathered around the courthouse during the hearing to express solidarity with the leader.
The counsel for Shah, Mukesh Kumar Karara, had argued that his client was being subjected to political vendetta.
Contrarily, the NAB counsel had argued that the inquiry was initiated against Shah for allegedly having assets beyond his known sources of income. He pointed out that Shah was arrested because he was not cooperating in the investigation.
On the other hand, the Sindh High Court had granted pre-arrest bails to Khurshid Shah’s sons – Zeerak and Farukh Shah – and alleged frontman Syed Qasim Ali Shah in the assets case against surety bonds of Rs500,000 each. The SHC directed NAB officials not to arrest the suspects till Oct 16.
Who is Khursheed Shah?
Born in 1952, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah hails from Sindh’s Sukkur region, which he went on to represent as an MPA and later as MNA. He studied at Sukkur’s Islamia College and obtained the degrees of MA and LLB.
He was elected to the Sindh Assembly in 1988 during which he was made a provincial minister holding a wide range of portfolios – education, import and transport being some of them. He made his way to the parliament in 1990.
Shah also served as a federal minister for education in 1993, during slain PPP leader, Benazir Bhutto’s second government. In 2008, he was elected from NA-199 (Sukkur cum Shikarpur-II), PPP and became minister for labour and human resources. He was made the federal minister for religious affairs in 2010.
In 2013, he was elected from NA-199 (Sukkur-cum-Shikarpur-II), PPP and became the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.
He was elected to the National Assembly once again in 2018, as he won NA-206 (Sukkur-1) and was the opposition’s joint nominee for speaker’s position.
