Hajj scam: FIA to ask court for more time
The FIA will now request the Supreme Court (SC) for more time to complete investigations before a report is submitted before the bench, which will resume hearing on Thursday.
“The team spent around Rs4 million during a two-and-a-half month stay in Makkah, Madina and Jeddah but it could not arrest Ahmad Faiz, who allegedly embezzled around 22 million riyals last year,” a senior FIA official told The Express Tribune.
A red warrant had been issued against Faiz and the team, headed by Hussain Asghar, was able to track his last known address – between Jeddah and Makkah. The official said Interpol and Saudi police had also attempted to arrest him.
A senior officer, who was part of the team, said that Faiz was involved in forging documents, including passports, for foreigners and also ran an illegal business in Makkah, Medina and Jeddah.
The official admitted that they cannot yet prove the allegations levelled against former hajj minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Zain Sukhera and others whose names had cropped up. “If we find proof, we will ask the court to issue arrest warrants,” he said.
While in Saudi Arabia, the team recorded statements of 40 people. FIA Director-General Wasim Ahmad has again requested Interpol, through the Pakistani foreign ministry, to arrest the absconding accused.
The FIA team’s meeting with Saudi Hajj Minister Dr Abdul Salam al Farooqui and Deputy Hajj Minister Hatim Hasan Qazi also did not yield any clues.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ali Khan Sherazi will stay in touch with the Saudi police to monitor progress in tracing the absconders.
The FIA team had left for Makkah on directions of the SC after the chief justice of Pakistan expressed dissatisfaction over the FIA’s performance last December.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2011.
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