Residents urge CJ, NAB to recover looted funds

Threaten to hold sit-in outside K-P Assembly if accused are not arrested

PESHAWAR: Residents have appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the government to recover millions of rupees that have been looted from them by a travel agency.

At least 20 people held a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Saturday to raise voice against the matter. According to the locals, they applied to perform Hajj through a travel agency. However, owners of the agency not only looted their money but also took their passports. Locals have also threatened to protest if the accused are not taken to task.

“If the government fails to arrest the culprits, we will hold a sit-in outside K-P Assembly,” said Javed Khan, a resident of Nasirabad. He added that he, along with 20 others, paid Rs350,000 each and submitted their passports to a travel agency situated in Shakoor Bazaar.

“The owners of the travel agency collected Rs6.4 million from Hajj applicants,” he said. “We were told that our Hajj application had been accepted.”

According to Javed, the agency owners assured him that he will obtain his visa soon and would travel to Saudi Arabia on August 20. Javed said he completed all arrangements to perform Hajj.

“However, the owners of the agency have now disappeared,” he said. “They have switched off their mobile phones and their office is locked. We don’t know about the whereabouts of the owners – Ameer Ahmad Shah, Haji Shah Hussain, Humayun Khan, Naveed Akhtar and Mahibullah.”

An FIR has been registered against the incident and the police have arrested three people while others are still at large. The residents have urged the government and the relevant authorities to take steps for the recovery of their money.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2016.