KARACHI (Azaad English): The former Prime Minister and current Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani received acquittal judgments concerning three corruption charges which stemmed from the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) scandal. The federal anti-corruption court in Karachi found that Gilani had no relevant charges proven against him.
In its decision the court gave full acquittal to 40 additional defendants who were part of the case. During his court appearance Yousaf Raza Gilani declared in front of the judge that jail imprisonment did not bother him. Prison has been a familiar experience for my brother because he stated he would accept any penalty from detention until possible death sentencing. When Gilani made his statement before the judge he earned a friendly reaction.
Since 2014 the TDAP case has faced claims of running billions of rupees through fraudulent trade subsidy payments. Payment approval at TDAP occurred through backdated cheques to non-existent companies during the PPP government rule.
Multiple court cases had been filed against Yousaf Raza Gilani as well as other officials because of the scandal. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) issued 25 indictment charges of more than 70 cases against him. The court could not verify any wrongdoing by him in any of the three cases they examined.
During the trial Senator Farooq H. Naek represented Gilani by asserting that the complaints against his client stemmed from political biases. Judges from the court accepted the defense arguments thus dismissing all charges and awarding an honourable acquittal to Gilani.
The verdict finished and Yousaf Raza Gilani declared repeatedly that he stayed away from any personal involvement with the case. Mr Gilani emphasized that during his time as prime minister he held no authority to approve every governmental department decision.
During the court proceedings several witness testimonies against Gilani demonstrated corrupt actions while they currently face corruption charges.
This legal outcome provides both Gilani and the PPP with major success because it allows the former prime minister to leave the high-profile corruption case uncharged.
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