Ex-DRAP chief executive on sleuths’ hook
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Wednesday arrested former Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sheikh Akhtar Hussain for holding a fake PhD degree.
The probe agency had registered an FIR against Sheikh Akhtar for deceiving authorities by faking his death twice to escape a fake degree case against him. However, FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Deputy Director Afzal Niazi upon conclusion of his investigations arrested him.
Previously, a joint enquiry team was constituted by FIA North Additional Director General Rana Jabar to conduct a probe into more than 100 different applications against various officials of the DRAP. Afzal Niazi constituted 12 teams to arrest Hussain and several raids were conducted on the house, offices, and factories but all efforts failed in the past.
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FIA had placed his name on the No Fly List and moved an application in court to block his CNIC for his unconditional surrender. Hussain was accused of mega corruption and accumulation of wealth of more than Rs100 billion along with fake death claims to save himself from arrest in two NAB cases No 40/2001 and 16/2004. Other charges included abuse of official powers, holding a fake degree, getting PhD allowance on a fake degree since 2001 from taxpayers' money, and drawing salaries after the termination from government service on 17 March 2021.
He was drawing Leave Encashment Allowance of LPR of more than Rs2.5 million after termination from government service. He was also accused of increasing the prices of medicines, promoting officials without DPC and management courses and embezzlement in the official record of the DRAP.aqc
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2023.