Karachi court grants bail to Zamir Abbasi — Dawn
The Sindh High Court in Karachi, Pakistan, has granted bail to Zamir Abbasi, who is described as the prime suspect in a case involving alleged corruption worth 8.5 billion Pakistani rupees during the construction of the Yellow Line bus rapid transit route. The court set bail at 10 million rupees.
As Dawn reports, Justice Miran Muhammad Shah noted that the investigating authority may, if it wishes, ask the Interior Ministry to place Abbasi’s name on the list of persons barred from travelling abroad.
Court’s remarks on the investigation
The court acknowledged that the amount involved in the case was substantial, but pointed to an improper investigation and gaps in it. The ruling also stated that the relevant rules were not properly followed during the inquiry, investigation, registration of the FIR and Abbasi’s arrest.
The court noted that provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code concerning dishonest misappropriation of funds, fraud and document forgery did not correspond to the contents of the charge materials and the FIR.
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Case circumstances
Sindh’s anti-corruption agency in June opened a case against Zamir Abbasi, then project director of the Karachi Mobility Project, Jhaman Das, then procurement director, and others. The basis was an investigation by the Chief Minister’s Inspection, Inquiry and Implementation Team into alleged financial mismanagement in the Yellow Line project.
The prosecution opposed Abbasi’s release, citing alleged abuse of official authority, irregular financial transactions and significant losses to the public treasury. The defence said that the audit findings were administrative in nature and could not, by themselves, establish criminal liability.
The court also noted that additional funds for the project had been approved by the competent authority, and payments were made after bank guarantees in the form of various cheques had been received from contractors.
