Jahangir Tareen, son’s bails extended till May 19

LAHORE: The bail of PTI leader Jahangir Tareen and his son Ali Tareen in the sugar scandal case has been extended till May 19. The case against Jahangir and Ali was heard at a banking court in Lahore on Monday.

Jahangir's lawyer said that Abu Bakar Khuda Bakhsh has been made a part of the investigation team. "We should be given a chance to be a part of the investigation," he said. Last week, the government changed the head of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) led joint investigation team (JIT) probing a sugar crisis in the country. The government replaced FIA Lahore Director Dr Muhammad Rizwan with Additional Director Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh as an inquiry officer.

Speaking about the FIRs registered against his clients, the lawyer said the FIRs are against "the facts." He said there were many errors related to the monetary figures in this case. The lawyer said it is possible that FIA may dismiss the case after its investigation is complete. The Lahore banking court adjourned the hearing till May 19.

The father-son duo have been accused of money laundering and fraud, with one of the case's registered by the FIA amounting to alleged fraud of Rs3.14 billion. An FIR states that Jahangir allegedly transferred illegal shares worth billions of rupees to Farooqi Pulp Mills Limited, which is owned by his son and close relatives.

It says the transfers, especially after 2011-12, were "patently fraudulent investments which ultimately translated into personal gains" for Jahangir's family. Some Rs3 billion were invested and laundered through the same factory. Last year, PM Imran Khan had tasked the FIA to investigate the sugar crisis throughout the country and find out who benefited from it.

A report by the FIA released last year had claimed that top PTI members were among those who gained from the recent sugar crisis in the country. Among the people named in the FIA report were Jahangir Tareen and a brother of the then Minister for National Food Security Khusro Bakhtiar. Tareen was said by the report to have benefited the most from the sugar crisis followed by Bakhtiar's brother. The report had also claimed that companies belonging to Moonis Elahi - an ally of the party - profited from the sugar crisis. Elahi is Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi's son and a key member of the PML-Q.