Steel Mills corruption case: Three years on, FIA fails to make headway in probe

Several ‘final challans’ have been submitted in the case.

KARACHI: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had ordered an inquiry into alleged embezzlement worth billions in the Pakistan Steel Mills soon after the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came to power. But three years have passed and there has been no progress in the case. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had registered 10 cases – but none of them have been pursued earnestly.

Barring PSM former chairperson Moeen Aftab Sheikh, all the accused have got bail before arrest. And ironically, investigation officers have been trying to drop the names of influential people in their ‘final challans’ which have been submitted to the court several times.

The Supreme Court also seems helpless before the bureaucracy’s delaying tactics as the apex court has not been able to take up hearing of a suo motu case for the past five months.

On August 18, 2009, Premier Gilani had sacked the then chairperson of PSM Moeen Aftab Sheikh on graft charges and directed the FIA to investigate the alleged corruption at the biggest state-owned steel plant of the country. In pursuance of Gilani’s orders, the then FIA chief Tariq Khosa had started investigation. Later, the Supreme Court took suo motu notice of the case following the publication of an article by defence analyst Ayesha Siddiqa in the national press.

The apex court then summoned the PSM top officials. The FIA, under pressure from the court, registered five different cases for alleged embezzlement of Rs 11 billion. However, the investigation officer, FIA chief Tariq Khosa was transferred after some time. The investigations continued regardless.

Over the past two years, the apex court has reprimanded the FIA several times for lack of progress in the case and contended that the agency was trying to protect the accused. However, the bureaucracy used delaying tactics, like PSM’s refusal to become complainant in the case, non-issuance of recovery notices to the dealers and stopping investigation process.

The forensic audit of PSM accounts has been completed after a several months’ delay. And the over 3000-page report was submitted in June this year. But analysts say that such a voluminous report would further complicate the case. Surprisingly, the PSM has also expressed dissatisfaction with the report.

Last time the Supreme Court had taken up the suo motu case on April 28, 2011. The FIA, benefiting from this delay, are trying to remove the names of influential accused in the five cases from the final challan. Surprisingly, the FIA has submitted several ‘final challans’ in this case.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2011.