Mehrangate

Mehrangate, also known as the Mehran bank scandal, was a major political scandal in the history of Pakistan in which officers in the Pakistani Army and Inter-Services Intelligence conspired to prevent the re-election of Benazir Bhutto's government in the 1990 and 1993 general elections. The conspirators bribed senior politicians and political parties to undermine the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Initiated by Pakistan Army's Chief of Army Staff General Mirza Aslam Beg with the alleged support of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, payments of up to PKR 140 million were made by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General Lieutenant-General Asad Durrani and Corps of Engineers Engineer-in-Chief Lieutenant-General Javed Nasir via the owner of Mehran Bank, Yunus Habib. Intelligence funds were deposited in Mehran bank in 1992 propping up what was an insolvent bank as a favor to its owner's for help in loaning money to the Inter-Services Intelligence in 1990 that was used in the creation of the right wing alliance Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) and bankrolling the campaigns of many opponents of the PPP.

The scandal subsequently broke after the new ISI Director-General Lieutenant-General Javed Ashraf Qazi decided to transfer the intelligence fund back to state owned banks as per official rules. Mehran Bank was unable to return the money due to its poor financial state and collapsed. It was later discovered that large sums had been siphoned off to 39 fictitious parties.

In 1995, Mehran Bank was amalgamated with the National Bank and in 1996 the NBP had to make full provision for Mehran's liabilities which resulted in a net loss that year to the bank of Rs 1.260 billion.[1]

Yunus Habib was arrested on 7 April 1994 for misappropriation in the sale proceeds of the Dollar Bearer Certificates. On Dec 14, 1995, Younus Habib was convicted of fraud and embezzlement and given a sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment by the Special Court for Offences in Banks in Sindh. On April 20, 1994, giving details about the payments made by Habib to generals, politicians and political parties, the then Interior Minister, Naseerullah Babar, told the National Assembly that the main beneficiary of his largess was former army chief General Mirza Aslam Beg who received Rs140 million.[2]

Convictions

In March 2012, Pakistan's Supreme Court summoned Younis Habib, Mirza Aslam Beg, and Asad Durrani to testify in response to a lawsuit filed by Air Marshall Asghar Khan in 1996.[3] On 19 October 2012, the Supreme Court tribunal found Beg and Durrani guilty of violating the Constitution for their roles in the bribery. Beg has evaded testifying before the court, arguing his constitutional rights were violated by the court's finding before he could testify.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ghazali, Abdus Sattar. "ISLAMIC PAKISTAN: ILLUSIONS & REALITY".
  2. ↑ Sabir Shah (16 October 2015). "Many characters of Asghar Khan case already dead". The News.
  3. ↑ "Central character of Mehran Bank scandal resurfaces". Dawn. 7 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "Gen Beg keeps defying apex court orders". The News. 17 October 2015.
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