A report compiled by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) identified several contradictions in the statements of former army chief general Aslam Beg and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief General Asad Durrani about the distribution of huge sums of money among politicians in the 1990 elections.
The report, presented in the apex court, stated that Beg flatly denied forwarding any instructions from either the presidency or army General Headquarters (GHQ), and said that Durrani was in direct contact with the presidency.
Although Durrani admitted distributing the money, he said that he was following orders from the president’s election cell (Jalal Haider Zaidi and Roedad Khan) and that the army high command (the Army Chief of Staff, COAS) was on board.
Similarly, Durrani had stated that Lieutenant Colonel Eqbal Saeed and Lieutenant Colonel Salman Butt were responsible for disbursing the money in Punjab.
In response to the handwritten notes about disbursement provided by Brigadier Hamid Saeed Akhtar, he remarked that as the ISI director general he must have transmitted them onwards to the Pakistan Military Intelligence (the GHQ) as the operation was being handled by the Military Intelligence, of which he was the head prior to the elections.
Akhtar provided a similar handwritten note about the distribution of money in Sindh, insisting that Durrani had provided the money.
The report stated that the military officer, Saeed, was responsible for distributing the money in Punjab as per second supplementary statement submitted by Durrani.
He is currently settled in the US.
Now, the defence ministry has asked the authorities concerned to share his whereabouts and a response is still awaited.
It is also submitted that when the FIA committee contacted another retired military officer – Salman Butt – on the mobile phone that he would be interviewed in this matter, “he said that the FIA has got the wrong number and hung up his phone”, the FIA report stated.
The defence ministry had also been contacted to share his whereabouts and a response was still awaited.
Likewise, the defence ministry has also been requested to share the whereabouts of Lieutenant Colonel Mir Akhtar Khan.
The FIA report stated that advocate Yousaf Memon had alleged that money was paid to veteran politician Javed Hashmi after the 1990 elections.
As many as 12 politicians, who had allegedly taken money, have passed away.
Citing an interview given by senior politician Abida Hussain aired on November 28, 2012, the report said that she admitted getting the money.
But when the FIA contacted her, she denied the allegations.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court directed the defence ministry to provide relevant information about five retired military officers – Brigadier (retired) Amanullah Khan, Eqbal Saeed, Ejaz, Akbar Ali Khan, and Salman Butt – to the FIA.
During the hearing, the court warned that the military would be summoned if there is no progress in the matter.
The cabinet had recommended taking action against former army chief Beg and spymaster Durrani.
“Nobody is immune from appearing before the court,” said Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, who headed the three-judge bench that resumed the hearing of the Asghar Khan case after a gap of two months.
On June 9, the defence ministry had submitted a report, stating that the cabinet had decided that the interior division would send the matter to the military authorities for appropriate action against all retired military persons involved in this case.
When the chief justice inquired if the military authorities had taken any action in line with the federal cabinet’s recommendations against Beg and Durrani, a representative of the defence ministry asked the bench for more time for compliance, stating that requisite record of witnesses was being sought from the interior ministry.
In response, the chief justice asked why there was no progress even after two months, saying that if the defence ministry could not submit a reply, the court might call up relevant military authorities.
FIA director general Bashir Memon also sought more time for investigating politicians, including former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Zafarullah Jamali.
Memon said that Jamali has denied receiving any money.
He said that the former prime minister had told the FIA that he would record his statement after the July 25 elections.
The agency was yet to obtain record from the defence ministry in this matter, said Memon.
Nisar said the matter should not be further prolonged.
The bench directed the defence ministry and the GHQ to share records with the FIA, and adjourned the hearing for four weeks.