“I am the first victim of incumbent govt” – Dr Asim

May 7, 2016
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Finding nothing, NAB mulls to book me in goat theft case
By Nasir Mahmood

KARACHI: “I am the first political victim of a political government”, said Dr Asim Hussain while talking to media at an Accountability Court here yesterday.

Earlier, the court indicted former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain in a corruption reference pertaining to Rs 462 billion losses. The ex-minister among other officials pleaded not guilty to the accusations.

The court then ordered the prosecution to produce witnesses and evidences in the next hearing on May 14. Dr Asim was earlier brought to the court amid tight security.

Secretary petroleum Chaudhry Ijaz was also present in the hearing.

When the court asked about allegation by NAB, Dr Asim accused the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of submitting fake documents in the case against him just to increase the weight and volume of record. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has already concluded the case, he added.

Speaking to the media outside the court Dr Asim said, “I am the first political victim of a political government.” When a reporter asked him that former president Asif Ali Zardari was once a political prisoner too, he replied, “I am talking about this government.” Dr Asim said that the charges leveled against him by NAB had already been investigated before. “The court was not informed of this,” he stressed. The former minister was arrested on Aug 25, 2015.

According to the allegations, the government was forced to provide a subsidy on urea import which incurred Rs450 billion losses on national exchequer from 2012 to 2013 due to policy made by the accused as petroleum minister.
Many corrupt persons are roaming around freely with security protocols while I am in jail, Dr Asim said and mocking over the case against him uttered that after failing to find something over him, the NAB is mulling over to book him in a cattle theft case.

He said that a commission was formed to probe corrupt people while he was enduring captivity. He demanded of the government to establish a judicial commission to probe into embezzlement and corruption on his part.

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