Court issues arrest warrants for former PM Gilani, Amin Fahim

An anti-corruption court in Karachi issued non-bailable warrants on Thursday for the arrest of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Yousuf Raza Gilani and Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

Further, the judge ordered authorities to arrest the two PPP leaders by September 10 and present them before the court.

The order was issued after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) presented a final chargesheet with 12 new cases registered against the PPP leaders before the court.

At present, the two leaders were on bail in 12 similar cases pertaining to corruption amounting to Rs500 million.

Responding to the court’s orders, the former PM said, “I will appear in court on August 31 instead of September 10.”

“A few months back, the court also issued arrest warrants for me and I was released without bail,” he added, according to Express News.

The move comes a day after Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Zardari’s close confidante Dr Asim Hussain was arrested.

Earlier, the federal government gave formal permission to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest former prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, and former minister for commerce, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, in connection with the multi-billion Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) scandal.

Both the individuals, who are also senior leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), had started consultation with renowned legal experts to ensure their legal defense in view of their possible arrest.

Well-placed sources in the FIA told the Express Investigation Cell that the federal government has taken the principled stance not to accept any political pressure and to take the investigations into the Rs7billion financial scam to its logical conclusion. They said the permission of arrest is also a part of this resolve.