KARACHI: Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister for Information and Archives Sharmila Farooqi future seems dark as National Accountability Beauru (NAB) has failed to submit a reply so far in supreme court, it is reliably learnt to The News Tribe.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Ahmed Chudhry on the plea of an applicant Aslam Siddique, asked to NAB on Aug 24 to file a reply within two weeks but NAB failed to respond so far.
The Human Rights Cell of the Supreme Court reminded the NAB on December 9 to file a reply by December 20, 2010. However, the Bureau still failed to come up with any response.
The applicant Aslam Siddque in his plea said Sharmila Farooqi was convicted by NAB and cannot hold public office for 10 years.
In his application, he said that Accountability Court No 4 of Karachi ruled under a plea-bargain adjudication on April 24, 2001 in an accountability reference, filed against Sharmila and her parents, and added that she cannot hold any government office for 10 years under the NAB ordinance.
The validity of the appointment of Sharmila Farooqi is in question as she was disqualified from holding any public office in 2001 under the NAB law for 21 years, but she made her way into the provincial cabinet in 2008 and appointed as the advisor to Chief Minister of Sindh on 29th October 2008.
“She is still working as the advisor to CM on Information”, sources said and added that the “Sharmila became an advisor on the instruction of Zardari and it’s not easy to remove her”.
However, it is learnt that “Now Chief Justice is looking into the matter so the Government have no other option to remove her otherwise government will again come across with the judiciary.
According to the reports, Sharmila, along with her father Usman Farooqi, former chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills, and mother Anisa Farooqi, entered into a plea bargain with the NAB in 2001.
At that time, the disqualification period was 21 years. However, it was later reduced to 10 years through an amendment in the NAB law, had been made in August 2001. Even than she is not qualified to hold any public office until 2011.
However, a copy of the judgment dated 28-4-2001 of the Accountability Court No IV, Karachi says in para No 49:
“The upshot of my above discussions is that the plea of > barraging (sic- plea bargain) of accused persons under Section 25(a) NAB Ordinance, 1999, duly accepted by the Chairman, NAB is hereby approved and the application of the prosecution for withdrawal of the reference is allowed. Consequently, all the three accused are hereby released. However, all the three accused stand disqualified for being elected and appointed or nominated as a member or servant of any public office or any statutory or local authority of the Government of Pakistan they shall not be allowed to avail any financial facility in the form of any loan or advances from any bank or financial institutions owned or controlled by the government for a period described under Section 15 NAB Ordinance, 1999.”
At para 50, the judgment clearly named the three accused in these words: “The accused Sharmila Farooqui and Anisa Farooqui are present on bail while accused Usman Farooqi is present in custody, he shall be released forthwith, if not required in any other cases….”.
According to the court record, the NAB initially filed a reference no March 2000 in the Accountability Court No 4, which was presided by the then judge Mr Muhammad Jawaid Alam against the three accused.
In the said reference, Usman Farooqui was accused to have invested a huge amount of Rs39.5 million in the National Saving Scheme Certificate in the names of his wife and daughter.
On April 12, 2000, the court convicted all the three accused for the offence of corruption and corrupt practices under Section 4 of the Ehtesab Act, 1997 read with section 10 of National Accountability Ordinance 1999.
They were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years. The bearer certificates amounting to Rs39.5 million, which were already frozen, were ordered by the court to be forfeited to the Government of Pakistan.
Against the order of the Accountability Court, the three accused filed an appeal in the SHC, which on June 21, 2000 remanded the matter to the trial court for framing of proper charge keeping in view the role of beneficiaries/abettors/instigators.
Again the reference proceedings started in the trial court and before the announcement of judgment, the then Deputy Prosecutor General NAB Anwar Tariq and defense counsel for all the accused filed a joint application for postponement of the judgment on the ground that a plea bargain under Section 25 NAB Ordinance was in progress.
The court accepted the plea bargain application. Before an amendment in August 2001, Section 15 of the NAB Ordinance said that any accused person who has availed himself of the benefit of section 25 (plea bargain) of this ordinance shall also be deemed to have been convicted for an offense under this ordinance, shall stand disqualified for 21 years as above.
After the amendment, the disqualification period of 21 years was reduced to 10 years. In Sharmila’s case, neither the disqualification period of 21 years or 10 years has elapsed as yet, but still she was appointed Adviser to the CM Sindh as on Oct 29, 2008.
The applicant prayed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad chudhry that Sharmila Farooqi’s appointment as Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister should be declared illegal and unlawful since the first day of her appointment.
Therefore all the salaries received by her and the expenses incurred on her should also be recovered from her as she is wasting the precious resources of this nation’s wealth. He also prayed that the Chief Minister Sindh must be held responsible fro appointing a convicted person as his advisor with the status of minister.
The sources said that as now NAB had failed to reply to the SC Human cell also the Chief Justice will take an action.
“If Chief Justice will order against her appointment than Government will have no other option rather to remove her”, sources claimed.
However, the president will not like to remove any of his appointed person from the Government but her case is in the Supreme Court, so there are chances that she have to leave soon.
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