ARY News analyst Ghulam Hussain sent to jail

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published 3 years ago

LAHORE—Senior journalist Ghulam Hussain was sent to jail on Friday on a 14-day judicial remand in a case of alleged bank fraud, Dawn reported.

FIA arrested Hussain from Lahore on Thursday night. A district and sessions court sent the ARY News analyst to jail on judicial remand for 14 days. In a press statement, FIA maintained the journalist took a bank loan of Rs57 million in 2003 based on forged documents.

On Friday, FIA prosecutor Munim Bashir told the court that the journalist had not returned the bank loan. He asked the court to grant his 14-day physical remand.

However, Azhar Siddiqui, Hussain's lawyer, questioned the FIA's action ten years after the first information report (FIR) was registered regarding the case in 2011. He wondered why 30 to 40 people came to arrest the elderly journalist, asking the real reason for arresting Hussain.

The judge asked the FIA prosecutor if the journalist was declared a proclaimed offender in 2013, what was FIA doing as Hussain appeared on TV channels almost daily.

The journalist told the court that the dispute was about property worth Rs450 million. Out of this amount, Rs250 million have been paid. However, he added now the issue is pending before the Supreme Court.

Rejecting FIA's plea, the judge sent the journalist to jail on a 14-day judicial remand. The FIA was also asked to return the journalist's CNIC.