ISLAMABAD: A special court on Friday dismissed former Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Chairman Zafar Hijazi’s plea seeking acquittal from the Chaudhry Sugar Mills record tempering case.
Hijazi was indicted two weeks ago at a Special Court. Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) maintained that the accused is involved in the tempering of Chaudhry Sugar Mills record. The former SECP chairman challenged the charge.
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.
Hijazi is accused of pressuring his subordinates to change dates on documents related to the sugar mills.
Special Court Central Judge Irum Niazi rejected Hijazi’s application on the reasoning that solid pieces of evidence are available to initiate the trial. The case is adjourned till November 29 and directed FIA to produce prosecution witnesses in the next hearing.
Hijazi was arrested in the premises of the court by FIA on July 21 after the expiry of his bail before arrest.
The FIA team had submitted a 28-page inquiry report to the Supreme Court on July 9, in which it had endorsed the stance of the joint investigation team probing the offshore assets of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family in connection with the Panama Papers case.
A lower court on July 17 had granted a five-day pre-arrest bail to Hijazi against two surety bonds worth Rs250,000 each after Hijazi filed for a pre-arrest bail as per Section 498 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Pakistan, citing medical grounds as the basis for the request.
