ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday submitted to the Supreme Court its report regarding the prime suspect in the Shahzeb Khan murder case, Shahrukh Jatoi’s escape out of Pakistan, DawnNews reported.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heard the case.

During the hearing, FIA’s legal director Azam Khan told the court that Shahrukh’s passport contained a visa but it did not mention dates of validity.

He said that the suspect, under the fake name of Syed Shahrukh, had travelled to Dubai on Dec 27, accompanied by his brother Nawab Ali Jatoi and a friend, Khurram.

The FIA legal director added that the suspect purchased an air ticket without showing his passport and used a fake CNIC to obtain a boarding pass.

Justice Gulzar Ahmed inquired if it was possible to obtain an international air ticket without showing one’s passport to the travel agent.

Khan replied that it was not possible to do so but the travel agent had issued the suspect an international air ticket without seeing his passport, while PIA and Airport Security Force (ASF) officials also assisted the suspect in leaving the country without proper documentation or records.

Chief Justice Iftikhar inquired as to the identities of the concerned officials and was told by Khan that their identities would be known in two to three days’ time.

The chief justice also asked if Shahrukh’s visa was a permanent or a temporary one.

The FIA legal advisor also told the court that the ticketing counter which had issued the boarding pass to the suspect has also been identified.

The chief justice further said that the suspect’s father, Sikandar Jatoi, had told the media that his son had left for Australia on Dec 25, to which Khan replied that it was incorrect information provided by the suspect’s father.

The chief justice then inquired as to the action taken against the suspect’s father for misleading the police. He added that the case was high-profile and had highlighted various weaknesses in the immigration system of the country, which had helped the suspect to flee the country despite a computerised checking system in operation. He also asked about the lack of photographs in the immigration counter records.

The FIA legal director told the court that a FIR of the crime had been registered. Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed remarked that registering a FIR would not help as the blame would be put onto the ‘smaller fish’.

The chief justice asked about the lack of developments in the case and if it was because the suspects were influential.

The court told the Inspector General (IG) that it was a high-profile case, therefore, the police must work harder to provide a transparent and impartial investigation, along with providing the witnesses with due security.

Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned until Feb 13.