Ex- Mehran Bank President Habib says Ghulam Ishaq, Gen Beg forced him to give politicians Rs400m

Islamabad, Mar 9 (ANI): Former Mehran Bank President Younis Habib has told the Pakistan Supreme Court that former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and former army chief Mirza Aslam Beg had forced him to arrange 400 million rupees for giving to politicians in the name of national interest before the 1990 general elections.

Submitting his first-ever revelation before the court, ailing Habib, who appeared before the court in a wheelchair, tendered unconditional apology and put himself on the mercy of the court for the forceful deed he had committed to comply with the orders of the former president of Pakistan.

"I am the victim of that national interest and apologise for whatever I did to comply with the order of the former president. Now I put myself at the mercy of this august court," The News quoted Younis Habib, as saying in his written statement.

A three-member bench of the apex court comprising of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez heard a plea moved by Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan in 1996 regarding the alleged disbursement of money among the anti-PPP politicians by the then army chief General Aslam Beg, the then DG ISI Lt Gen Asad Durrani and the then Mehran Bank president Younis Habib to disrupt the general elections.

Former ISI chief Asad Durrani and Younus Habib, former chief of Mehran Bank, appeared before the court, while commander Shahbaz represented the Defence Ministry. Mirza Aslam Beg was also present in the courtroom. Salman Akram Raja represented the petitioner, Asghar Khan, while Muhammad Akram Sheikh represented Aslam Beg.

On the court directives, Habib read out his three-page written statement in the court, stating he met Aslam Beg at the residence of a senior army official and then he and Mirza Beg talked to each other frequently. Later in March 1990, he submitted that Aslam Beg told him that President Ghulam Ishaq Khan wanted to talk to him and ordered to arrange 400 million rupees before the elections.

He further submitted that a few months later, Aslam Beg invited him to a ceremony held in Karachi where he was treated like the chief guest.

Habib also provided the court a photo with his written statement in which he had been shown to be one of the persons along with the then President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan and uniformed officers of Pakistan Army having conversation with Mirza Aslam Beg.

He further submitted that Aslam Beg phoned him again, saying that the President wanted to meet him at the Balochistan House. He said in the meeting that President Ghulam Ishaq asked him to arrange the said amount in the name of a national cause. (ANI)