NICL land scam: Come voluntarily or in handcuffs, says SC to FIA chief

Attorney-general yet to submit prime minister’s responses.


Qaiser Zulfiqar July 26, 2011

ISLAMABAD:


The Supreme Court threatened on Monday to issue arrest warrants for the director-general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after his persistent failure to present himself before the court in its hearings on the National Insurance Company Ltd (NICL) land scam case.


FIA Chief Syed Tahseen Ali Shah is accused of violating Supreme Court orders by taking disciplinary action against the FIA’s lead investigator in the case, Zafar Qureshi, whom the court had ordered not to be removed from the case until the investigation has been completed.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was presiding over a three-member bench hearing a suo motu case on allegations of financial misconduct at the state-owned NICL. The accused in the case include several high profile politicians including Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leader and Punjab Assembly member Moonis Elahi.

“Either you are going to bring him [the FIA chief] here or we will issue an arrest warrant for him,” said the chief justice to Sohail Ahmed, the establishment secretary, one of the three senior-most civil servants in the country.

On Monday, the court reserved its judgment on the matter of reinstating Zafar Qureshi on the case. On July 14, the court had directed Attorney-General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to seek information from Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who was facing disciplinary action – which means he cannot pursue his investigation – despite the court’s orders.

The prime minister, however, appears to be ignoring the court’s inquiries and the attorney-general has yet to file anything on Gilani’s behalf. Haq did, however, inform the court that two of the principal accused in the case, Mohsin Warraich and Moonis Elahi, have returned £1.3 million, part of the money that was allegedly embezzled out of the state-owned insurance company.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th,  2011.

COMMENTS (8)

Rosie Deus-von Homeyer | 12 years ago | Reply emphasized text@sashayub: In all Judicial systems(in Germany is the same),the Court SUMMONS a witness firstly. If s/he does NOT appear in the Court voluntarily,then he can be arrested,because the Rules of Crimonal Procedure require,that a winness has a duty to appera in the court. It is a misdeamenor or in some countries EVEN a felony,if the Court issues a SUBPOENA and the witness ignores it. Therefore Justice Chaudhry is right to require the arrest of the DG of FIA.
Farhan Kermani | 12 years ago | Reply

I have a feeling that the judicary will resign as hinted by Nusrat Javeed. there is no point to issue orders that are not being met and usng Article 90 would be detremintal for Pakistan, the judiciary popularity and respect would sky rocket with the resignations.

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