LAHORE, Aug 31: The Federal Investigation Agency restrained on Tuesday its anti-crime and economic crime wings from prosecution.

The directive was issued in the light of the recent merger of the agency's two wings in the National Accountability Bureau. The FIA has already stopped the employees of these wings from taking up the pending inquiries as well as the new ones.

Officials said courts dealing with the FIA cases would be requested to adjourn those sine die. They said these wings were dealing with about 5,000 inquires and cases throughout the country.

In the absence of any legal framework, they said, the fate of these inquiries and cases would remain uncertain after undertaken by the NAB authorities. They said the NAB should have evolved a proper legal framework before clipping these wings.

They apprehended that the NAB would have to seek amendments to its ordinance of 1999 every now and then after undertaking the inquiries and cases. A senior officer told this reporter that the cases likely to be decided in the near future would remain pending.

He said it was not clear whether the NAB would retrial all the cases in the accountability courts or ask the present courts to continue. The status of the low-profile inquiries and cases would also remain uncertain, he added.

According to the modalities finalized between the NAB and the FIA, the former will take 33 per cent (1,114) staff of the anti-crime wing and all the 330 employees of the economic crime wing.

The FIA headquarters also issued a list of 483 employees of these wings on Tuesday, asking them whether they were willing to join the NAB. The list includes three director, 22 deputy directors and 33 assistant directors.

The name of those giving endorsement would be sent to the NAB by Sept 15 for absorption and the remaining would go either to the surplus pool of the establishment division or transferred to some other wings of the agency. However, those on deputation would be sent back to their parent departments.

Some 30 per cent budget of the agency would be transferred to the NAB according to the agreement. Besides, as many as 24 four-wheelers belonging to the central and regional offices would be handed over to the NAB.

The federal cabinet had decided the merger of these wings in the NAB in September 2002, and a notification to this effect was issued in August 2004.