ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday took notice of Ali Musa Gilani’s reservations regarding the conduct of ANF investigators in the ephedrine scam and repeated its earlier directions to ensure a fair and transparent probe.
The court, however, refused to consider Gilani’s claim that “there is no evidence against his involvement except Brigadier Faheem’s concocted affidavit,” saying that instead of challenging the merits of the case Gilani should clarify his position before a trial court.
Ali Musa, expressing lack of trust in the ANF chief, filed a petition on Monday seeking the transfer of Brigadier Faheem.
When Ali Musa’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja voiced the reservations, his objections were turned down by the chief justice who said that Faheem was empowered to elicit all concerning details.
On the complaint of ANF officials, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, took notice of the Federal Investigation Agency’s interference in the case by forcing two officials to record statements in favour of the principal secretary to prime minister Khushnood Lashari.
Justice Jawwad S Khwaja remarked that the FIA has nothing to do with this case and the said statements carried no legal grounding. The court, in its written order, also asked ANF to submit a detailed written application in this regard.
The court has issued a notice to Narcotics Secretary Zafar Abbas Lak to appear in the next hearing to defend his alleged role in obstructing investigations. The court indicated that it could proceed against Lak for his misconduct in the ephedrine case after ANF officers informed the bench about Lak’s alleged interference and the subsequent transfer of the entire investigation team.
Brigadier Fahim, however, still remained skeptical over gaining access to certain documents including the list of visitors at the prime minister secretariat and said some quarters were creating hindrances.
Faheem complained that he had given the names of the accused to be placed on the exit control list, but that two of them managed to leave the country as no action has been taken as yet.
When the chief justice asked what happened to the huge quantities of ephedrine, Brigadier Faheem said it was smuggled by companies as reports indicated that 6,400 kg of it was seized by Iranian authorities, 750 kg was intercepted in Iraq and 200 kg in Karachi.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 16th, 2012.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Respected CJ sb please accept his plea Mr. Ali Musa like his father is very innocent.