Pakistan

NICL scandal: DG FIA leaves country despite SC orders

According to Supreme Court’s orders, Shah was supposed to assist Zafar Qureshi in NICL case...

Asad Kharal October 29, 2011

LAHORE: The Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Syed Tahsin Anwar Ali Shah left the country late on Friday in order to ‘deliberately’ avoid appearing before the Supreme Court (SC), sources revealed.

The SC summoned the DG FIA on October 25 instead of the Secretary Interior, Director and Assistant Director FIA Lahore to explain why they failed to cooperate with lead investigator of National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) multi-billion scandal Zafar Qureshi, while knowing that he was investigating the case in pursuance of the Supreme Court directives, sources familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune.

According to the Supreme Court’s orders, Shah was supposed to assist Qureshi in the NICL case investigations, but he left the country under mysterious circumstances to allegedly avoid implementing the court orders.

Justice Amir Hani Muslim had also sent a notice to the interior secretary on September 19 saying that the DG FIA’s failure to sign any progress report may lead to contempt of court proceedings. The FIA has also not submitted two fortnightly progress reports scheduled for October 6 and October 22 to the chamber of Justice Muslim.

Justice Muslim had already directed the interior secretary to ask Shah for an explanation within three days, but Shah left the country instead. He returned to Pakistan on a one-page emergency passport recently but on October 28, he again left the country as per previous practice, sources familiar with the matter revealed.

According to Supreme Court orders, Shah was bound to attend “meetings as a team member of the investigation if he had signed any documents as the DG FIA,” sources further revealed.

Shah left the country from Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore late on Friday through Bangkok bound Thai Airlines flight TG-346 scheduled to 11:40 pm.

Sources in the FIA said that the DG FIA has gone abroad to participate in the 80th Interpol General Assembly being held at Hanoi, Vietnam, from October 31 to November 3.

COMMENTS (14)

gp65 | 13 years ago | Reply

Why does the government not send a contemptof court notice to Gilani? As PM, it is his duty to implement court orders.

Bilal | 13 years ago | Reply

@billo bhaya, i'm a banker by profession but i know enough about the legal underpinnings of judicial decisions to understand that courts of law are never revolutionary. if they start being so, they gravely risk working outside the paradigm that defines them and confines them. a court of law is never a place where you would find a revolution. i see most of educated pakistanis expecting the superior judiciary to despense with something more than just a justice. the courts are part of a process that eventually leads to justice being served...other components are the legislature which, provides enabling laws, and the executive, that carries out justice in practice. now expecting the CJ or the superior judiciary to provide the nation with something of a 'respite' by putting the govt out is not in the powers granted to the judicial arm no matter how popular the CJ may be, frankly. expecting it is killing the same spirit that brought the judiciary back in 2007. hence, i don't really understand what some pakistanis really mean by asking the CJ et al to put the house in order. let me say it again: IT IS NOT THE JUDICIARY'S RESPONSIBILITY TO REFORM OUR NATIONAL ILLS. The judiciary is expected to work within the limits prescribed by the constitution of Pakistan and uphold it even when other branches of state are not doing that. it is supposed to follow the due process while adjudicating the most tenuous of matters. For instance, though the judge may himself believe that Zardari is corrupt, he has to set aside his personal conviction and only permit admissible evidence in convicting him. There is no place for emotionalism, sentiment and popular belief. The law requires hard facts, and evidence to support it through an investigating. And i understand that there is little assistance from govt. during the trial but short-cutting the due process would take us back to cases like maulvi tamizudin and nusrat bhutto with devastating effect. i as a pakistani would rather wait and see it done right than go for a short cut this time. DG FIA should be penalized for his glaring disobedience of law.........

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Fareedi | 13 years ago | Reply

Bravo... so the custodians of Law are breaking it themselves. We shall now have to go to Thieves for protection! Pity this isn't what our forefathers died for. We are humiliating and disgracing their sacrifices for the lust of power and greed.... Pakistan ka Matlab Kiya?

Loot Khasoot aur mauj Manaa! Shameful.............

Parvez Amin | 13 years ago | Reply

The preceding comments show people's disappointment in the Supreme Court's silence following contempt of its orders. Many would be willing to lend support to the court if they were aware of what was expected of them. I believe it is the duty of the press to find out and inform the public. It appears reasonable to expect that the court would at the very least initiate contempt proceedings against offenders. If there are cogent reasons why this course is not chosen, it is again the duty of the press to find out why and educate the public. If the press fails to do this, one could say that it is a party to the contempt of court. Silence can be iterpreted as guilt.

Aftab Kenneth Wilson | 13 years ago | Reply

He should now come after the retirement of the present CJ who seems to be suffering from FIA Phobia. Sorry for his son who could not get job in this department but this is no fault of FIA alone. They must catch who blew the whistle.

m khan | 13 years ago | Reply

Pakistanis must demand the parliament to pass a law that any embezzlement of government property in any form and shape as money or benefits, through Theft, Bribe, Contracts, and transfers by any individual or company or corporation is a crime of treason against the country and carries a capital punishment and conciliations of all their assets and start a accountability from the start of Ayub’s government.

QB | 13 years ago | Reply

It's just not the failure of SC, rather us a a nation. Why do we have a culture where people feel no shame of going against the law and are proud of corrupt money.

Please stand up against injustice. Let us help SC implement its orders and have government comply with them.

hillbilly | 13 years ago | Reply

under the existing laws the hapless judges are played like a banjo by zardari and co. law and constitution are means to an end not an end in itself....CJ should invoke doctrine of necessity and take some harsh measures against such loathsome characters, there is no other option left.

Adeel759 | 13 years ago | Reply

I wonder if the Judges may have to come on the streets to protest their orders being not implemented.

Asif Butt | 13 years ago | Reply

I think its about time that we Pakistanis wake up and start thinking of coming out to the streets.

BECAUSE , EVERY POLITICIAN needs to be kicked out and we need fresh n clean blood....

m khan | 13 years ago | Reply

Wow such blatant disrespect for supreme court’s orders. SHAME on this government .

Seher Siddiqui | 13 years ago | Reply Our Courts, in order to prove that it is not a NORA KUSHTI, will have to convict some one for contempt of court. Let us begin with this DG, FIA whose appointment is clearly in violation of Rules. Things will keep worsening if courts keep looking the other side. Just see the way Courts have been tricked and insulted in MOONIS Ilahi case. IHC's permission to Wariech to go to England on medical grounds shows some element of connivance as all the major players of NICL are now sitting in England. could this happen if this was a case peon or clerk.

Billoo Bhaya | 13 years ago | Reply Just yesterday in an ET Editorial titled "SC's Campaign Against Corruption," the Editor wrote and I quote: The Supreme Court of Pakistan under Iftikhar Chaudhry has regained much of its lost prestige. It is considered the first ‘independent’ apex court that has not only taken on the brute power of the executive but has become ‘activist’ in the pursuit of executive malfunctions. My comment was and I quote: Name me one verdict that showed and did this???? One man sent to Jail for his misdeeds???? Within a day of this Editorial being posted, a bureaucrat blatantly leaves the country violating SC orders as ET says. The fault is SC's. When the SC declared the NRO illegal, null and void, the same order should have sent the PPP government packing and calling fresh elections within 90 days supervised jointly by the SC and the Armed Forces. Reason being, if NRO is illegal and void then ipso facto the Government is illegal and void too. That is what the law states. However, SC did not desire to have a political event on their hands. If that was their reasoning then SC should have let NRO stay. But SC did the opposite by have permitting PPP Government to disregard all verdicts and orders by not implementing them. By the same token orders of other courts in Pakistan have also not been implemented, which makes the Courts and Judges incompetent So where is JUSTICE and where is its PRESTIGE??? Moderator I trust you will post my comment without editing. It contains observation of a Citizen of Pakistan with no disrespect. Thank you.

tauseef | 13 years ago | Reply Let's take the right steps in our own lives so that our chiildren do not have to live through such nightmares and disregard to law, decency, morality everything.

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