Is Sharjeel Memon still afraid of arrest despite bail?

By
GEO NEWS
|

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Monday granted protective bail to former Sindh minister Sharjeel Memon till April 5 against Rs2 million surety bonds, but he still seemed frightened of his arrest and kept questioning his counsel about that.

Memon was briefly detained by officials of the National Accountability Bureau upon his arrival at the Islamabad airport late Saturday night and released after verification of his bail before arrest orders and assurances from the lawyer that he would appear before the court.

He returned to the country from Dubai after two years and was accompanied by Sindh ministers, Mukesh Chawla, Imdad Pitafi, Fayyaz Ali Butt and Nawab Taimur Talpur.

The PPP lawmaker appeared before the court on Monday and sought bail in NAB corruption cases, which was granted until April 5.

The IHC directed the petitioner to approach the trial court during this period.

Despite his bail approval, the ex-minister appeared frightened of his arrest. Flanked by party affiliates outside the court, Memon was captured while seeking his counsel reassurance, "Won't they be arresting me now?"

"No, they won't arrest now," replied Farooq H Naek, after which the former provincial minister regained confidence, but also sensed mobile cameras of journalists around.

When a journalist posed a question, he apparently tried to his fears saying, "I asked so, because there is law of the jungle in place here".

Speaking to media, his counsel said NAB should stop political victimisation of his client.

On Sunday, Sharjeel Memon said that he came back to Pakistan to face the allegations against him, as he is not the one to run away from problems.

“I wasn’t arrested at the airport, I was abducted,” he said on the subject of his two-and-a-half hour detention.

He said that he was going abroad for medical purposes and had prior permission from Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah.