Action against Gilanis: For arrests, SC backing sought

Former premier is accused of illegally appointing Rao Shakil and Zain Sukhera.

ISLAMABAD:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has once again sought Supreme Court’s (SC) backing to arrest former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in connection with the Hajj scam.

Gilani is accused of illegally appointing Rao Shakil and Zain Sukhera, central figures in the multi-billion 2010 Hajj scam.

The country’s premier investigation agency has sent a letter to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, requesting a ‘go-ahead’ for the arrests of the former premier and his son Abdul Qadir Gilani. If it gains the CJ’s approval, FIA will then seek arrest warrants for the Gilanis from a local court.



The FIA investigation team sought the apex court’s assistance after FIA Director General (DG) Muhammad Anwar Virk turned down its request to investigate the Gilanis.

“We have requested the Supreme Court to allow us to arrest former PM Gilani in the Sukhera case,” an investigator associated with the case told The Express Tribune. He added they have already asked for an arrest warrant for Gilani in the case of Rao Shakil’s appointment as the 2010 Hajj operation DG.

Meanwhile, another senior Investigator told The Express Tribune that the case may take a new turn after March. Interior Minister Rehman Malik had directed the agency to stop harassing the Gilani family till March this year. Once the period expires, investigators may resume action against the accused, he maintained. Former religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi, who spent over 17 months in jail on corruption charges, also wants to record a statement which directly implicates the former premier, the investigator revealed without explaining the matter further.

“The SC may now allow us to interrogate Gilani personally,” he said. He quoted part of an application that will be submitted before the court in the case hearing to be held today (Monday): “SC may guide FIA as to whether Gilani enjoys immunity under article 248(1) [of the Constitution] or not.”

The apex court resumes hearing the Hajj scam case today (Monday) with special reference to Abdul Qadir’s application where a three-member judge bench sought a report from the FIA on his complaint that the agency ‘crossed limits’ by investigating the authenticity of his degree.

In its reply, FIA will inform the court that investigators found Gilani guilty of illegally appointing Zain Sukhera as a BPS-20 officer in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat without advertising the post. Sukhera has himself admitted before investigators that he obtained fake degrees from the UK, said the investigator.

Faisal Chaudhry, the counsel for former PM Gilani, said FIA is legally bound to seek the law ministry’s guidance. He maintained his client enjoyed immunity under article 248(1) and FIA, being a subordinate functionary, had to abide by the laws.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2013.