KARACHI: A federal anti-corruption court in Karachi on Friday acquitted Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani in three cases related to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) corruption scandal.
Gilani appeared before the judge Dr Shahbana Waheed during the hearing of his acquittal pleas in the federal Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) court. Senator Farooq H. Naek appeared as Gilani’s counsel.
Announcing the verdict, the court declared that no charges against former prime minister had been proven, granting him and 40 other accused individuals an acquittal from the TDAP corruption case.
The judge further noted that those who had testified against him were now facing charges themselves.
Talking to media outside the court, the Senate chairman said the case was registered against him in 2009, adding that it came as all approvers have become culprits and fled the country.
During the proceedings, the judge addressed Gilani, saying that a verdict had been reached in three cases against him. Gilani responded affirmatively, acknowledging the decision.
Former premier Gilani and several senior officials of the TDAP — including its former chairman Tariq Iqbal Puri and former director general Abdul Karim Daudpota — faced charges over their alleged role in sanctioning and distributing fraudulent trade subsidies.
The case involved the disbursement of billions of rupees to bogus companies through falsified claims and backdated cheques during the tenure of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government.
