SC wants Tauqir Sadiq deported by Thursday
Former ogra chairman being kept at al Wathba prison.
Supreme cout wants UAE to deport Tauqeer Sadiq. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court wants the former chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Tauqir Sadiq, deported from the custody of the UAE authorities before February 14 when his detention runs out there.
“The right law and the right approach with the right authorities may not have been pursued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other [relevant] Pakistani authorities,” said the court on Monday. It wants Sadiq deported immediately because the UAE authorities have said that his detention at al Wathba Prison in Abu Dhabi was only for a period of 15 days that wrap up February 14. If a request is made, however, this can be extended for a month.
Sadiq is suspected of embezzling Rs83 billion. He fled after the Supreme Court declared his appointment illegal on November 25, 2011, and ordered the anti-corruption watchdog to investigate. During the hearing on Monday, Justices Jawwad S. Khawaja and Khilji Arif Hussain said they were unhappy with the progress made to get him back. There was nothing on the record to indicate that the Pakistani government had made any request to the UAE. NAB Prosecutor General KK Agha was told to submit a report with documents on any effort made since January 1, 2013 to apprehend him. The Federal Investigation Agency, interior ministry and NAB was told to work fast.
The judges were concerned that the government was thinking of extraditing him, which could be a time-consuming process. They noted that the government had not acquired a legal opinion on UAE laws from their local counsel.
If Sadiq cannot be deported by February 14, said the judges, then a request should be made to extend his detention.
Agha informed the court that the authorities in Dubai appeared to be reluctant to deport Sadiq and were changing their stance. They were, however, working on taking him into custody and that will likely take a week.
The court expressed concern over a letter the Cabinet Division issued to NAB in which the prime minister said he wanted it and the Establishment division to update him fortnightly on the case. The NAB chairman appears to have received the letter one month ago but NAB Prosecutor General KK Agha has said he had no idea this correspondence existed.
The bench said that considering that the prime minister may himself be prima facie implicated in Sadiq’s unlawful appointment it was “somewhat surprised” that the letter has not been answered yet.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2013.
The Supreme Court wants the former chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Tauqir Sadiq, deported from the custody of the UAE authorities before February 14 when his detention runs out there.
“The right law and the right approach with the right authorities may not have been pursued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other [relevant] Pakistani authorities,” said the court on Monday. It wants Sadiq deported immediately because the UAE authorities have said that his detention at al Wathba Prison in Abu Dhabi was only for a period of 15 days that wrap up February 14. If a request is made, however, this can be extended for a month.
Sadiq is suspected of embezzling Rs83 billion. He fled after the Supreme Court declared his appointment illegal on November 25, 2011, and ordered the anti-corruption watchdog to investigate. During the hearing on Monday, Justices Jawwad S. Khawaja and Khilji Arif Hussain said they were unhappy with the progress made to get him back. There was nothing on the record to indicate that the Pakistani government had made any request to the UAE. NAB Prosecutor General KK Agha was told to submit a report with documents on any effort made since January 1, 2013 to apprehend him. The Federal Investigation Agency, interior ministry and NAB was told to work fast.
The judges were concerned that the government was thinking of extraditing him, which could be a time-consuming process. They noted that the government had not acquired a legal opinion on UAE laws from their local counsel.
If Sadiq cannot be deported by February 14, said the judges, then a request should be made to extend his detention.
Agha informed the court that the authorities in Dubai appeared to be reluctant to deport Sadiq and were changing their stance. They were, however, working on taking him into custody and that will likely take a week.
The court expressed concern over a letter the Cabinet Division issued to NAB in which the prime minister said he wanted it and the Establishment division to update him fortnightly on the case. The NAB chairman appears to have received the letter one month ago but NAB Prosecutor General KK Agha has said he had no idea this correspondence existed.
The bench said that considering that the prime minister may himself be prima facie implicated in Sadiq’s unlawful appointment it was “somewhat surprised” that the letter has not been answered yet.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2013.