Court approves three-day physical remand of Zafar Hijazi
July 26, 2017
ISLAMABAD: A court on Wednesday approved a three-day physical remand of Zafar Hijazi, the former chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) facing charges of record tampering in the high-profile Panama Papers probe.
Hijazi was presented in the court by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) earlier today, following expiration of his four-day physical remand. The former SECP chairman spent two of these days in hospital where he underwent treatment for kidney infection, and the remaining two days in FIA’s custody, Hijazi’s counsel told the court.
The court has instructed the authorities to produce Hijazi before the judges again on July 29 after his latest remand expires.
An FIA inquiry team had found Hijazi guilty of tampering the records of companies owned by the Sharif family. The team had submitted a 28-page inquiry report to the Supreme Court on July 9, in which it had endorsed the stance of the JIT probing the offshore assets of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family in connection with the Panamagate case.
Hijazi's lawyer, however, had argued in court that SECP staffers did not tamper records of Chaudhry Sugar Mills under duress. Both the SECP officers named in the case had acted on their own, his lawyer had said.
Meanwhile, Zafar Abdullah has been appointed as acting chairman of SECP for three months.
