Issuing CNIC to Mansoor: FIA investigator in fake CNIC case absconding

Tasleem Akhtar was part of the JIT entrusted with the task of an inquiry against NADRA officials

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official, who was investigating a case of issuance of a fake Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) to the Afghan Taliban’s slain chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, has been declared absconder by his department.

Mansoor was reportedly killed in Balochistan in a US drone strike on May 21. A Pakistani CNIC and passport found at the site identified the victim as Muhammad Wali, a resident of Karachi.

Later, the interior minister ordered an inquiry into the incident and officials of the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) and district administrations were arrested for issuing the CNIC.

However, according to a source, the FIA’s Inspector Muhammad Tasleem Akhtar has disappeared from his Quetta office during the course of investigation.

“The inspector was charged by his department for extorting money from those officials and individuals who were accused in the fake CNIC case.  He has been absconding since July,” Rizwan Aslam, a deputy director of FIA, Quetta told The Express Tribune.

The absconding inspector was one of the three members of the joint investigation team (JIT) that was entrusted with the task of an inquiry against those officials, who were instrumental in the issuance of a fake CNIC to Mullah Mansor.

Aslam said the FIA had registered a criminal case of money extortion against the inspector after receiving complaints by those who were being blackmailed by him. He said a departmental inquiry conducted against the inspector found him guilty of unfair practices.

The department after failing to apprehend its deserting  official issued an advertisement in newspapers on Tuesday asking him to appear in the office from where he is absent since July 1 , 2016.

The advertisement ‘Final Show Cause Notice’ signed by the FIA Director Abdul Qadir Qayyum also warned the absconding inspector to be ready for his dismissal from his job in case he failed to appear in the office within 15 days.

Originally, the inspector, hailing from Islamabad was serving in the Pakistan Customs in the same rank but managed to get himself absorbed in the investigation agency during the previous government.

The deputy director said the inspector was also facing a few other inquiries for his alleged unfair practices in the past. His cell phone was found ‘not responding’ despite repeated attempts.

The FIA had arrested several officials of Balochistan government and NADRA for allegedly facilitating Mansoor in obtaining CNIC and a Pakistani passport. Prominent among those arrested included a Balochistan Levies official, Risaldar Major Aziz Ahmed, who had attested Mansoor’s application.

A NADRA employee, Riffat Iqbal, arrested from Karachi was accused of helping Mansoor in the process of getting his second wife and his children Pakistani citizenship.

A former official of Qilla Abdullah, Sher Ali had also played a key role in the matter when the late Taliban leader decided to obtain the CNIC on the basis of fake documentation.

Before getting the CNIC, Mansoor allegedly obtained a certificate that declared him a local resident of Qilla Abdullah. The certificate was signed by then deputy commissioner Hafeez Tahir who was also arrested by the agency and was interrogated by the joint interrogation team.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2016.