Islamabad High Court directs Senate chairman’s adviser to settle dispute with bank by Dec 2

Islamabad High Court directs Senate chairman’s adviser to settle dispute with bank by Dec 2

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed Mian Khurram Rasool, adviser to the Senate chairman, to settle his financial dispute with a bank by December 2 in a case involving his conviction for defrauding the financial institution of Rs71 million. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar issued the direction while hearing an appeal filed by Mr Rasool against his conviction in the bank fraud case. An accountability court had sentenced him to nine years in prison with a fine of Rs50 million in November 2018 after convicting him of defrauding the private bank of Rs71 million. During Monday’s hearing, defence counsel Amjad Iqbal Qureshi argued that not a single prosecution witness had testified against his client and maintained that the case was based on no evidence. He contended that the allegations against Mr Rasool were civil in nature and his client was willing to settle the dispute with the bank. He requested the court to grant him some time to resolve the matter. However, NAB senior prosecutor Rafay Maqsood opposed the request, pointing out that the convict had been seeking time on the same pretext for more than a year but had failed to clear the bank’s outstanding liability. The chief justice directed Mr Rasool to settle the matter with the bank by December 2. According to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), it had filed references against Mr Rasool in 2009, accusing him of fraudulently obtaining loans from a private bank and subsequently defaulting on the amount. The prosecution maintained that Mr Rasool had obtained loans of Rs71 million, Rs10.2 million and Rs10 million from the bank, which later declared him a defaulter on the Rs71 million facility. Mr Rasool, who previously served as media coordinator to former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, was accused of defrauding financial institutions and members of the public while portraying himself as an adviser to the then prime minister. He is currently serving as media adviser to the Senate chairman. In a separate allegation mentioned in the NAB proceedings which are pending before another bench of the IHC, Mr Rasool and his brother Shahid Mehmood were accused of inducing members of the public to purchase sugar and scrap from the Trading Corporation of Pakistan and Pakistan Arab Refinery Company and opening fake accounts in the bank with these companies abbreviations, respectively, causing an alleged loss of Rs380 million. Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2026