RAWALPINDI, Dec 14: A court rejected on Tuesday the bail plea of former director-general of Haj Rao Shakeel in the case of alleged corruption and mismanagement in Haj affairs.
Special Judge Central (FIA) Masroor Zaman dismissed the post-arrest bail plea of Mr Shakeel for non-prosecution because his lawyer did not appear in the court.
The former director-general through his lawyer Raja Inam Amin Minhas had said that he along with a nine-member committee had selected and hired 87 buildings for accommodation of 17,500 pilgrims while the rest of the arrangements were made by the secretary and acting Haj director-general.
In a hurriedly registered criminal case he had been accused of causing problems for pilgrims whereas he was not alone in taking decisions in Makkah. Rather, a committee comprising government officials and private tour operators was to finalise arrangements, said the former official who is in Adiyala Jail on judicial custody.
He said that in September he was called back after allegations of mismanagement and corruption were levelled against him after a parliamentary committee sent by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visited Saudi Arabia.
Sultan Shah was appointed as acting DG Haj in Saudi Arabia where the secretary ministry of religious affairs supervised the arrangements, he added.The allegations against Mr Shakeel are that four out of total 87 buildings hired by him were not located within two kilometre radius from Masjid-i-Haram and facilities were situated further 100 to 200 meters away.
Further, he had paid 30 per cent of the total rent in advance as 3,600 Saudi Riyal was fixed for every pilgrim ceiling.
Later, the secretary religious affairs and the acting DG Haj obtained 129 buildings for 70,000 pilgrims and facilities were from five to seven kilometres away from Haram, the former DG has claimed in the bail application.
He said the rent was fixed between 3,500 and 3,600 Saudi riyals per pilgrim.
This situation forced the Saudi Prince to write a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan because he had offered the ministry of religious affairs accommodation within two kilometres against rent between 3,200 and 3,300 Saudi Riyal.
Mr Shakeel maintained that the pilgrims faced major problems at Muzdalifa and Mina where a majority of them was forced to live on a hill top without running water, shelter, toilets and electricity.
The arrangements were made by the acting DG not by Rao Shakeel, said Advocate Minhas.
He said as far as the allegation that his client paid Rs17 million as advanced rent was unreasonable because the money was paid as rent of the accommodation and not for any other purpose.