4-day remand for PM’s ex-media coordinator

FIA apprises court of details of fraud; Khurram Rasool contends the case is ‘fake’.

ISLAMABAD:

Four more days of physical remand of Khurram Rasool, the former media coordinator to the prime minister, were obtained by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday.

The remand was granted by the court of senior Civil Judge Mahmood Haroon Khan.

Assistant Director (legal) Naeem Khalid and Inspector Irfan Burney, an investigation officer of the FIA, produced Khurram Rasool handcuffed in the court. They requested the judge for seven days of physical remand for interrogation.

Apprising the court of the findings during the investigation after the initial three-day of remand of Rasool, the FIA officials submitted details of his fraud worth Rs71 million.

The official informed the court that Khurram Rasool had obtained the money from a man identified as Sohail Rabbani, promising him a sugar export quota.

He added that Khurram Rasool had given a cheque for Rs6.5 million to Rabbani, which was also dishonoured.

While submitting documentary evidence to the court, FIA officials said that the ex-media coordinator of the PM had opened a fake account in the name  of ‘Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP)’ whereas the original firm was under the name ‘True Corporation’.

Rasool, however, contended before the court that the FIA had registered a fake case against him, adding that he only came to know about the case a night before his arrest.

“I am ready to accept fault before the media and judiciary if even a single rupee of the complainant is proven to be in my account,” he said.

The court, however, granted four more days of physical remand to the FIA and adjourned the case till February 4.

At the last hearing, the court, while granting three days’ physical remand, had ordered FIA investigators to collect concrete evidence and present it before the court instead of only providing the FIR and some additional documents.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2012.