According to online newspaper Pakistan ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday issued the
detailed verdict in the Asghar Khan case. The 140-page verdict is written by
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Registrar Supreme Court Dr Faqeer
Hussain read out the detailed verdict of the case. In the detailed verdict, SC has stated that Younis Habib
had confessed to distributing Rs40 million.
The secret agencies have no right
to make an election cell and the ISI and MI are duty bound to safeguard the
borders, it added. Elections of 1990 were rigged, the then President, Army Chief
and DG ISI exercised their power illegally. The verdict further says the
elections should be held on time without any fear. It said the president is the
head of state and it does not suit him to support any group. Creating a
political cell in the President House is illegal, it added. It is pertinent to
mention that a three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising of Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, had announced a short order, on Air Marshal (retd)
Asghar Khan’s petition filed in 1996 accusing the ISI of distributing Rs60
million among the politicians to manipulate the general elections of 1990.
Ruling
that the 1990 polls were rigged, the SC on October 19 directed the government
to take action against former army chief Gen (retd) Mirza Aslam Beg and former
chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani for
violating the Constitution by manipulating the 1990 general elections. The
court ruled that both Durrani and Beg brought a bad name to Pakistan and its
armed forces as well as secret agencies in the eyes of the nation.
“Notwithstanding that they may have retired from service, the federal
government shall take necessary steps under the Constitution and law against
them,” said the short order. The court also ordered the initiation of legal
proceedings against the politicians who allegedly received donations to spend
on election campaigns in 1990 and directed the Federal Investigation Agency
(FIA) to conduct a transparent investigation on the criminal side against all
of them and if sufficient evidence was collected, they should be sent for a
trial according to the law.The court ordered that any election cell/political cell in the Presidency or ISI
or MI or within their formations be abolished immediately and any
letter/notification to the extent of creating any such cell/department (by any
name whatsoever, would stand cancelled forthwith).
The court ruled that the
late Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the then president, Gen (retd) Beg and Lt Gen (retd)
Durrani acted in violation of the Constitution by facilitating a group of
politicians and political parties, etc, to ensure their success against
thecandidates in the general elections f 1990 for which they secured funds from
Younas Habib, former chief executive of now defunct Mehran Bank. The court
ordered that Younas Habib should also be dealt with in the same manner and
civil proceedings should also be launched, according to law, against the said
persons for the recovery of sums received by them with profit.
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