Dr. Shahid Masood arrested in PTV corruption case after IHC dismisses bail

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Friday arrested Dr. Shahid Masood from court premises after Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani dismissed his pre-arrest bail.

Dr. Masood, who is blamed for being engaged with the embezzlement of Rs38 million from state-run telecaster Pakistan Television, is being moved to FIA’s Zonal office.

An Islamabad district court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the anchor. However, Masood had acquired an interim bail. A month ago, a special court had rejected the anchorperson’s application for affirmation of interim pre-arrest bail. A couple of days after the fact, the TV anchor had challenged the special court’s decision in the IHC.

During today’s hearing, Masood’s counsel Shah Khawar contended that the anchor had not been named in the first data report held up for the case.

Meanwhile, PTV’s legal advisor, Mohammad Nazeer Jawad, told the court that Kashif Rabbani was likewise a suspect for the situation, however, he had returned more than Rs10m after his bail was denied.

Jawad further informed the court regarding co-accused Kashif Rabbani’s involvement in the case. “No one besides Masood and Rabbani knew about the fake company,” the counsel maintained.

Roshan Mustafa Gillani, another suspect, also returned Rs8m. Both Rabbani and Gillani had said that the remaining amount was to be returned by Masood, the PTV lawyer told the court.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge dismissed the anchor’s appeal for a pre-arrest bail.
As per the prosecution, Dr. Masood had consented to an agreement with a fake company to consult with the Pakistan Cricket Board for allowing of rights to the PTV for coverage of cricket matches played in Pakistan. Because of the agreement, the PTV had to face heavy losses.