NICL scam: SC asks Gilani, Malik for stance on FIA official’s reinstatement

Despite previous warnings, the government fails to submit list of nominees for commission chief.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has asked Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik to explain their stance on the government’s refusal to reinstate Zafar Qureshi as Additional Director General (DG) Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and lead investigator of the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) land scam in violation of the court’s order.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry directed the principal secretary to the PM and secretaries interior and establishment to submit their superiors’ replies in writing within a week.

The chief justice observed it was time to take the issue seriously after the Attorney-General of Pakistan (AGP) Maulvi Anwarul Haq requested the case be adjourned since he was not able to contact the PM over the weekend.

The apex court asked the government to recommend names for the chief of the commission proposed to investigate Qureshi’s alleged violation of service rules leading to his suspension which the court attributes to political intervention.

The media has also vociferously claimed that the government is headed on a collision course to salvage its partnership with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), an ally that served to shore up the ruling coalition when it was abandoned by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

The apex court had cautioned the government during the previous hearing to propose a name for the head of the commission, failing which it would either refer the matter to the chief justice of the Lahore High Court or appoint a judge from the superior judiciary on its own.

The court directed the AGP to ask Director Legal Affairs FIA Azam Khan to provide a detailed summary before the bench at the next hearing on the progress made on the four FIRs registered by the agency in the NICL land scam. He has been asked to submit details of the money transferred abroad by the accused and the number of proclaimed offenders arrested so far.

The chief justice remarked that the court has deliberately avoided directly asking the PM and the interior minister to explain themselves. They have been asked instead to give their reaction on the issue of Qureshi’s reinstatement.

The chief justice asked Khan to present the original letter issued by the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom in the NICL case and adjourned the hearing till July 25. Last Friday, the Supreme Court sealed the record pertaining to Qureshi’s suspension two days after he was reinstated by the court on July 1.

He was served two show-cause notices served in quick succession by joint secretary interior for allegedly violating the code of conduct. Despite the court’s directive to refrain from initiating disciplinary proceedings against him, he was suspended by the joint secretary who isn’t authorised to take action against him.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2011.