Hajj scam: Hamid Saeed Kazmi released from Adiala jail

Former minister says he would announce future political plans after due consultations

RAWALPINDI: Days after the Islamabad High Court had set aside his conviction in the Hajj corruption case, former federal religious minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi was released from Adiala Jail on Wednesday.

As he stepped out of the jail, Kazmi was received by several workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party and his followers who showered him with rose petals.

Speaking to the media after leaving the jail, Kazmi said that he always believed he was innocent and had been wrongly implicated, prosecuted, and convicted in the case.

He added that he never gave up hope that the higher judiciary would do justice.

Answering a question, he clarified that he was not awarded an A-class cell in the jail which he deserved.

Asked about his future political plans, he remained coy, answering that they would be announced after conducting consultations with his supporters over the next few days.

The court of a special judge (central) had convicted Kazmi in the Hajj scam last year. On June 3, 2016, the court handed down Kazmi a six-year-long prison sentence along with a fine of Rs147.396 million.

The minister along with former DG Hajj Rao Shakeel and Joint secretary of the ministry of religious affairs Aftabul Islam had been accused of hiring substandard residential buildings for pilgrims in Saudi Arabia for Hajj in 2010.

After a release order signed by a special judge central Islamabad was handed to the superintendent of Adiala jail, Kazmi was allowed to leave the facility.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2017.