NICL chief investigator: Apex court takes hold of suspension record

The chief justice says that the move seems to be an act of defiance.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court took the possession on Friday of the entire record pertaining to the suspension of lead investigator in the National Insurance Company Limited [NICL] scam Zafar Ahmad Qureshi.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chadudhry observed that the summary moved by the secretary interior for suspending Qureshi was “unlawful”.

The chief justice observed this while heading a three-judge bench hearing a suo motu notice taken over the controversy regarding the suspension of Zafar Ahmed Qureshi, assigned the task of investigation into the multi-million-rupee scam.

Earlier, Attorney-General Molvi Anwarul Haq accompanied by Secretary Establishment Suhail Ahmed and Secretary Interior Khawaja Sidique Akbar filed the relevant record in the court.

Secretary Establishment Division Suhail Ahmed said that the summary had not been moved under the establishment division rules.

The chief justice observed that the court had issued its order on July 1 whereas Qureshi was suspended the next day in an apparent attempt to defy the judicial order.

“You ought to go through Article 4 of the Constitution every morning which clearly states dealing with individuals’ rights in accordance with law. Moreover, officials like you are further bound by Article 5 (demonstrating loyalty to the state) and Article 10A (about fair trial), he added.

Meanwhile, the attorney-general apprised the bench that he had conveyed the court’s concerns to relevant quarters.

When the court asked if all of the original members of the investigating team had taken charge of their previous posts and resumed investigation of the case, the attorney-general submitted that one officer, who was posted in Peshawar, had returned, while the other three had been informed.

However, Haq did not say anything when he was asked about Qureshi’s statement that he was being harassed. The chief justice observed that that the court was “showing restraint”.

The bench said it would forward the issue to the chief justice of the Lahore High Court who will appoint a judge conduct an inquiry (and) everything will become crystal clear. We have to recover the looted money and arrest the culprits,” the chief justice said.

Responding to another query about a campaign against judiciary in the electronic media, the attorney-general replied that he had communicated to the secretary of the information ministry who had also talked to the (Supreme Court’s) registrar office about the issue.

“He told us that the matter was being probed and (officials were trying to identify people) who were sponsoring the move,” he added.

Justice Khilji Arif Hussain while comparing situation in Karachi to anarchy observed that defiance of Court’s orders might lead to similar chaos in society.

The hearing will resume on July 18.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2011.