October 19, 2006	Thursday	Ramazan 25, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: The Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday that the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has suspended ten officers of the customs department for their alleged involvement in an export rebate fraud worth billions of rupees.

The two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi was told that the CBR had also served notices on these officers for termination of their services besides putting their names on the exit control list (ECL).

Hearing four bail petitions of Raja Mohammad Zarat Khan, owner of Bawan Shah Group of Companies, Karachi, the bench dismissed the plea on the request of Advocate Raja Ibrahim Satti who represented the petitioner.

The names of the accused officers declared absconders are: Asad Aleem, Irfan Ahmed, Zulfiqar Ali, Sheikh Altaf Ali Chandio, Mohammad Akram, Munawar Burni, Fazal Ahmed Abbasi, S. Najmus Saqib Tirmizi, Khalid Pervaiz and Abdul Rashid Qureshi.

Efforts are afoot to arrest the absconded officers.

Representing the CBR, Advocate Abdul Hafeez Pirzada stated that the customs intelligence and investigation Karachi had registered different FIRs against the accused including two principal appraisers.

He said these customs officials were nominated in the case registered against Zarat Khan and Moosa Abdullah Clearing and Trading Agents by the customs intelligence for allegedly committing customs rebate fraud and evading customs duty worth billion of rupees.

The bench also expressed its displeasure over shifting of Zarat Khan from jail to hospital and said influential people were always shifted to hospitals from jails on one pretext or the other while poor patient prisoners were neglected.

During the hearing, Member (legal), CBR Mumtaz Sheikh told the court that the accused was shifted to hospital by the jail authorities, not by the CBR.

Earlier, Ibrahim Satti stated that a case against Zarat Khan was also pending before the Alternate Dispute Resolution.

Zarat Khan was arrested for evading customs duty on the complaints of the officials of directorate general intelligence and investigation (customs and excise) Karachi.