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LAHORE: Zafar Ahmed Qureshi, who assumed the charge of the additional director general of Federal Investigation Agency on Saturday, has written a letter to his boss – Director General Tahseen Anwar Shah – to restore the four officials of his team to their previous position for their ‘utility’ in the National Insurance Corporation Limited (NICL) scam.
Mr Qureshi was reinstated in the FIA after the Supreme Court suspended on Friday the notification regarding his transfer to the National Police Foundation.
After returning to the office on Saturday, Mr Qureshi wrote a letter to the DG, asking him to restore – deputy director Javed Shah, assistant directors Muhammad Ahmed and Khalid Anees and inspector Muhammad Sarwar (transferred on Saturday to DI Khan, Turbat, Peshawar and Gawadar, respectively) – to their previous place of posting (Lahore) as they had assisted him in the NICL scam.
The letter says: “The transfer of the officials in question is tantamount to violation of the Supreme Court’s orders. It shows malafide intention and aims at creating hurdles in the investigation of the scam.” A copy of the letter has also been dispatched to the Supreme Court registrar.
There is a word in the agency that these officials have been transferred because they had investigated PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi. However, Q’s information secretary Kamil Ali Agha said to link the transfer of the FIA officials with Moonis was an attempt to “damage his case legally”.
“Moonis has been indicted after a challan submitted in the banking court. Besides, all the witnesses have been testified and an acquittal application has already been filed,” he said.
Mr. Agha said the PML-Q also smelt a rat in the move as it seemed “some hidden hands in the government are on the agenda of irritating the judiciary in Moonis’ case to achieve their vested interests.”
According to an FIA official, some eight officials were transferred on Saturday. “There has been no standing direction from the apex court to transfer the officials in question,” he said.
After Mr Qureshi’s return to the FIA, a PPP’s federal minister may be in trouble for his alleged share in the scam. According to sources, the minister in question has received Rs200 million in the NICL land deal in Dubai.
PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has publically called action against Commerce Minister Amin Fahim for his alleged involvement in the NICL scam.
The FIA has so far arrested 13 people, including former NICL chairman Ayaz Khan Niazi. Three other accused, Mohsin Habib Warriach, Amin Qasim Dada and Javed Syed are at large. -- Zulqernain Tahir
