Sindh High Court (SHC), which was issued on Monday a message of showing reason for the investigator (IO) so as not to respond to a petition filed by former President Dr. Arif Alvi, who challenged the freezing of his and his family’s bank accounts.
The court noted that the IO had neither submitted an answer or appeared during the procedure.
A constitutional bench, led by Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha, ordered the officer to perform during the next hearing on June 25 and explain the delay.
During a previous hearing, the court had allowed Dr. Alvi to withdraw to RS1 million from one of the frozen accounts for significant expenses. Other stories belonging to him, his wife Samina Alvi and Son Awab, remain blocked.
Barrister Ali Tahir, lawyer for Dr. ALVI, told the court that the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) had issued appointed letters to private banks ordering the freezer in accordance with section 25 of the Money Laundering Act 2010 and Section 5 of the FIA Act 1974.
Read: Alvi was allowed to retreat to RS1M
The petition claims that the freezer was politically motivated and lacked proper legal process. The family claims that the account limits have placed them under financial burden.
Last month, SHC had released messages to FIA’s national cybercrime wing and banks on a petition that contested the freezing bank account for Arif Alvi and his family.
During the hearing, Barrister Ali Tahir stated the court that the rug freezing the stories of Dr. Alvi and his family have caused a negative impact where they could not cover their daily expenses.
The court noted while hearing the case that notifications would be sent to all relevant parties and their answers would be sought.
In a short exchange, the bench noted that the lawyer must have received a fee to represent the case. To which Barrister Tahir clarified that he handled the case pro bono.
