Hajj corruption case: Notice issued on Kazmi’s plea

Convicted former minister has challenged his jail sentence.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notice to the state on a plea filed by a former federal minister challenging his sentence in the Hajj corruption case.

The IHC Chief Justice, Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi, issued notice to the state, while hearing the appeal of former federal minister religious affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi against his conviction in the case.

On June 3, Judge Malik Nazir Ahmad of the special court (central) had awarded six years imprisonment each on two counts to Kazmi, the then DG Hajj, Rao Shakeel, and a former joint secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Raja Aftabul Islam; and imposed a fine of approximately Rs147. 4 million each.

If the accused fails to pay the fine, the order read, they will have to further undergo two years of imprisonment.

Since the sentences will run concurrently, the accused will only serve a total sentence of six years provided that they pay the fine.

In his appeal against the special judge (central)’s decision of June 3, Kazmi through his counsel Sardar Latif Khosa said that none of the prosecution witnesses have insinuated him with any malfeasance and his conviction was based on fanciful, arbitrary, capricious and absolutely conjectural hypothesis.

He has cited state as respondent.

The former Pakistan People’s Party minister argued that according to the prosecution’s own version, the appellant Kazmi, being minister, had a supervisory role and nothing to do with the hiring of buildings and making payments of rents to the building owners, yet the trial court proceeded to hold appellant guilty.

The petitioner said that the conclusion of trial court was based on suppositions and a consequence of misreading or non-reading of the facts.

The rent payment of the under-construction building was contingent upon completion and rent amount was retrieved through checks and no embezzlement of funds took place.

The petitioner further contended that that was a case of no evidence and sentence by the trial court was a violation of his fundamental rights.

Not a single prosecution witness said anything against the petitioner regarding kickbacks or commission and there is no such evidence on record to prove this offence, the petitioner said.

The role of hiring buildings for pilgrims was to be performed by a seven-member committee and the petitioner had no role whatsoever. Petitioner’s name was not in the FIR but he was implicated due to political rivalry.

That trial court while convicting the petitioner seemed to be influenced by the media trial, petitioner said. He prayed to the court to set aside his sentence awarded.

“I am forced to observe that the accused persons have set a worst example of corruption who in order to extort money through illegal means invented quite different scheme of defrauding Hujjaj-e-Ikram (guests of Allah) and played most dirty role,” the trial court judge had stated in his order.

The judgment also noted that the accused not only caused loss to public exchequer but they were also accused of creating hardships for the pilgrims.

“The offence committee by the accused persons is not only heinous in nature rather the same is against society and has shaken the trust of whole nation,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2016.