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ISLAMABAD: Hearing of petition filed by Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan in 1996 regarding the alleged disbursement of money among the politicians by ISI to disrupt the general elections, is underway here in the Supreme Court.

A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez is hearing the case.

The then army chief General Aslam Beg, the then DG ISI Lt Gen Asad Durrani and the then Mehran Bank president Younis Habib are present in the court.

Former army chief Aslam Beg submitted his rejoinder on the statement of Younis Habib. The apex court expressed resentment over a paragraph of Beg's statement and termed it contempt of court.

The Chief Justice asked Aslam Beg to tender apology over this paragraph.

Aslam Beg submitted written apology over this and appealed for deleting this para.

On Thursday, former Mehran Bank president Younis Habib told the Supreme Court that former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan and former army chief Mirza Aslam Beg had forced him to arrange Rs400 million for politicians in the name of national interest before the 1990 general elections.

Submitting his first-ever revelation before the court, the bank’s ailing former chief, who appeared before the court in a wheelchair, tendered unconditional apology and put himself on the mercy of the court for the forceful deed he had committed to comply with the orders of the former president of Pakistan.

“I am the victim of that national interest and apologise for whatever I did to comply with the order of the former president. Now I put myself at the mercy of this august court,” Younis Habib submitted in his written statement.