ISLAMABAD, Oct 24: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) made an astonishing revelation in the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it was facing serious obstacles in its efforts to trace Ahmed Faiz, a Pakistani national and principal accused in the 2010 Haj scam, because not only government officials but also the Saudi authorities concerned were not cooperating with its investigators.

“The Saudi government is not willing to trace Ahmed Faiz, already declared a proclaimed offender, as it can embarrass their national stature in handling Haj affairs,” FIA Director Hussain Asghar informed a two-judge bench which had taken up a case relating to allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the 2010 Haj arrangements.

Mr Asghar has been brought back to the FIA on the court’s order to resume investigation into the Haj scam. He was transferred to Gilgit-Baltistan as Inspector General last year, allegedly to block the investigation. He recently joined the investigation.

Mr Asghar informed the court that Haj had been treated as a matter of business by the Saudis for centuries and the reason for not tracing Ahmed Faiz was that some Saudi nationals were involved in the deal for hiring accommodation for Pakistani pilgrims in 2010. The Saudi authorities, he claimed, were not allowing even to interrogate their nationals.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was astonished to hear this and asked if the menace of corruption had also reached the holy places.

Ahmed Faiz was appointed to negotiate accommodation for Pakistani pilgrims in 2010 at the behest of former director general of Haj operations Rao Shakeel who is facing charges of embezzling Rs200 million during the Haj operations.

Mr Asghar said red warrants had been issued for Ahmed Faiz and whenever he left Saudi Arabia he would be arrested at an international airport.

Referring to Zain Iftikhar Sukhaira, another accused who is said to be a close friend of Abdul Qadir Gilani, a son of former prime minister, and who was instrumental behind the appointment of Rao Shakeel, the FIA director said the PM Secretariat, the Establishment Division and the Ministry of Religious Affairs were not cooperating with the agency.

He regretted that the FIA had sent three reminders to these offices to provide details about the appointment of Sukhaira as adviser to the PM Secretariat and then adviser to the Information Technology Ministry, although he held a fake university degree, but none of them responded to the reminders.

The court directed Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Ayub Qazi, Establishment Secretary Taimur Azmat and the religious affairs secretary to extend all possible assistance to the FIA. Otherwise, it said, the agency would be free to proceed against them.

Mr Asghar said that the Multan bench of Lahore High Court and then the Islamabad High Court had restrained the FIA from arresting Sukhaira.

The restraining orders were issued by the high courts on the grounds that until the controller of examination of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, verified the degree of Sukhaira and the university’s disciplinary committee took a decision on it, he should not be arrested.

The FIA officer said the arrest of Sukhaira was necessary because he was the middleman and could reveal the paper trail to establish where the dirty money had gone.

The court ordered the vice-chancellor of the university to cooperate with the FIA and dispose of the matter regarding verification of the degree as early as possible. It also directed the FIA director general to take personal interest in the Haj scam investigation.

The hearing was adjourned for two weeks.