Court acquits Yousaf Raza Gilani, others in TDAP corruption cases

A federal anti-corruption court in Karachi has acquitted Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani and all other accused in 14 cases linked to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) mega corruption scandal. Cases against absconding accused have been separated, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to the report, Senate Chairman Gillani and other defendants appeared in the court on Friday, where the judge delivered a strong rebuke over the prolonged duration of the trial.

The court remarked that it had reviewed each file thoroughly and found that the evidence against all the accused was insufficient.

“It has been 14 years—how is it justice to keep people entangled for so long?” the court observed. “We congratulate all the accused; as of today, you are free from these cases.”

During the hearing, senior lawyer Farooq H Naek stated that Gillani was falsely implicated in 26 cases and even declared an absconder at one point, despite the fact that not even the auditor had any evidence against him.

The court commented, “Humans are weak, and these people were misled by Satan. Even witnesses were wrongly labelled as accused.”

The court further said that if the FIA decides to withdraw its appeals, that is their choice. It added that had the case been transferred to the City Court, it could have taken another 14 years to reach a verdict.

The FIA had originally registered 26 cases related to the TDAP corruption scandal. Gillani had already been acquitted in 12 of those. He was formally named as an accused in the final charge sheet submitted in 2015.

Investigations into the TDAP case began in 2009, and the FIA began registering cases in 2013. The accused were alleged to have formed bogus companies to fraudulently claim Rs 7 billion in freight subsidies.

Reporter: Mumtaz Jamali