ISLAMABAD – Pakistan former Army Chief General Mirza Aslam Baig hasadmitted before a federal agency that ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharifhad received money from the army to sabotage the 1990 general elections.
General (r) Mirza Aslam Baig, who served as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS)between 1988 and 1991, claims that money was disbursed among severalpoliticians including the former president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N).
His confession to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) follows the denialof Sharif, who was disqualified over Panama Papers revelations last year,that he received any money from the army.
Gen (r) Baig, on the other hand, asserted that he would provide the proofsin the presence of Nawaz Sharif. Moreover, the former COAS said, he wouldrecord his statement in Asghar Khan case in detail when Nawaz Sharif wouldappear before FIA.
On Saturday, Sharif submitted his reply in the Asghar Khan case in theSupreme Court through his counsel.
The elder Sharif, in his reply, denied the claims of receiving Rs3.5million from Lt. General (r) Asad Durrani or from his representatives as adonation to spend on the general election campaign of 1990.
Nawaz Sharif also denied receiving an amount in the sum of Rs3.5 millionand Rs2.5 million from Younus Habib or under his instructions.
The ex-PM also stated that he had already recorded his statement on October14, 2015, before the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) inquiry committeeabout the issue.
Filed by former air chief, Asghar Khan, the case in question is one of themost talked about cases in the judicial history of Pakistan. It also givesa glimpse about the civil-military relations and the role played by themilitary establishment in the political domain.
Air Marshal Asghar Khan, in his petition filed in 1996, claimed that twosenior army officers and then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan doled out Rs 140million among few individuals to thwart the bid of Pakistan People’s Party,secure victory in the 1990 elections.
Asghar KhanThe petition was filed when Justice Nasim Hassan Shah was theChief Justice, however, the verdict came after a span of 16 years onOctober 19, 2012 when the apex court issued a 141-page verdict, orderinglegal proceedings against Gen (retd) Beg and Lt Gen (retd) Durrani,however, nothing substantial was done in this regard.
The 2012 apex court judgment, authored by the then-Chief Justice ofPakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry, had directed the Federal Investigation Agencyto initiate a transparent investigation and subsequent trial if sufficientevidence is found against the former army officers.
Gen (r) Asad DurraniAsghar Khan, who passed away in January this year, wasrepresented in the Supreme Court by renowned lawyer Salman Akram Raja..