Islamabad (November 11, 2017): A special court of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Friday rejected former Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) chairman Zafar Hijazi’s plea for acquittal in Chaudhry Sugar Mills record tempering case.
Special Judge Central Irum Niazi heard an application filed by the former SECP chairman pleading the court for pre-trail acquittal in the tempering case.
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Hijazi’s counsel submitted that there were not enough evidence for initiating trial of his client, hence he should be acquitted before the trail. After hearing arguments of Hijazi’s counsel and FIA prosecutor the court rejected the plea.
The court declared that prema facie there were enough evidence for starting trial of the accused.
The judge while rejecting the pre-trial acquittal plea directed FIA to produce its witnesses on Nov 29 for recording statement. The court then adjourned hearing of the case till Nov 29, 2017.
It is to be mentioned here that the court had indicted the former SECP boss in Sharif family’s Chaudhry Sugar Mills’ record tempering case last month.
Hijazi had pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the charges. Hijazi has been charged for allegedly pressuring his subordinates to change dates on documents related to the Chaudhry Sugar Mills.
Hijazi was taken into FIA custody earlier this year after a report released by the Panama Papers case joint investigation team (JIT), probing ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family’s wealth, alleged that the former SECP chairman had altered records related to Chaudhry Sugar Mills.
A case was registered against Hijazi on the orders of the Supreme Court after the three-member Panama Papers case implementation bench acted on the JIT report.
The first information report against the former SECP chairman was registered under Sections 466 (forgery) and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), read with Section 5(2)(47) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, at FIA’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) in Islamabad.
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