FIA to press charges against Jummani
Preliminary investigations found that she had received her share of the bribe in Hajj arrangements.
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is all set to file a case on corruption charges in last year’s Hajj arrangements against former State Religious Affairs Minister Shagufta Jummani after preliminary investigations found that she had received her share of the bribe.
Officials have tracked incriminating evidence that the minister received some Rs6 million through her brother Mahfooz Jummani. Ibrahim Baghdadi, a Saudi citizen reportedly paid Rs2.3 million to Shagufta when she went on an official visit to Saudi Arabia.
“We have sent a request to the special court of FIA for filing a charge-sheet against Jummani,” an official said.
Investigators sought permission to interrogate Jummani after they found that her brother might have received the bribe on her behalf earlier this year.
The FIA has also decided to record the statements of four federal secretaries who had recommended Rao Shakil for the post of director-general Hajj in Jeddah. The decision was taken in a meeting of Special Selection Board on July 20, 2009. The then Establishment Division Secretary Ismail Qureshi, Special Secretary Foreign Office Khalid Aziz Babar and Cabinet Secretary Zafar Mahmood had recommended Shakil for the post. Shakil is in FIA’s custody on corruption charges in the Hajj scam.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th 2011.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is all set to file a case on corruption charges in last year’s Hajj arrangements against former State Religious Affairs Minister Shagufta Jummani after preliminary investigations found that she had received her share of the bribe.
Officials have tracked incriminating evidence that the minister received some Rs6 million through her brother Mahfooz Jummani. Ibrahim Baghdadi, a Saudi citizen reportedly paid Rs2.3 million to Shagufta when she went on an official visit to Saudi Arabia.
“We have sent a request to the special court of FIA for filing a charge-sheet against Jummani,” an official said.
Investigators sought permission to interrogate Jummani after they found that her brother might have received the bribe on her behalf earlier this year.
The FIA has also decided to record the statements of four federal secretaries who had recommended Rao Shakil for the post of director-general Hajj in Jeddah. The decision was taken in a meeting of Special Selection Board on July 20, 2009. The then Establishment Division Secretary Ismail Qureshi, Special Secretary Foreign Office Khalid Aziz Babar and Cabinet Secretary Zafar Mahmood had recommended Shakil for the post. Shakil is in FIA’s custody on corruption charges in the Hajj scam.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th 2011.