ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday rejected the bail application of Omni Group chairman Khawaja Anwar Majeed in the fake bank accounts case.

A division bench of the IHC comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Lubna Saleem Pervaiz announced the decision soon after Mr Majeed’s lawyer filed his post-arrest bail application.

The lawyer told the court that the health of 77-year-old accused, who was admitted to a hospital in Karachi, was not stable. According to doctors, he added, Mr Majeed’s treatment was not possible in Pakistan due to unavailability of required medical facilities and he should undergo heart surgery either in the United States or in the United Kingdom.

The lawyer said that the spread of Covid-19 posed danger to his client’s life.

NAB prosecutor Barrister Rizwan told the court that the reference against the accused had been filed but the charge could not be framed yet due to his conduct. He said that Mr Majeed’s bail plea had been rejected in the past.

After hearing the arguments, the bench declared that the accused was not entitled to the relief of bail.

The fake bank accounts case pertains to alleged money laundering worth billions of rupees through 29 accounts opened in three banks.

The Federal Investigation Agency had named PPP leader Asif Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur, Anwar Majeed, his sons and over 10 others as accused in an interim reference filed in a banking court in August 2018.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2020