News
Sunday, March 06, 2011
FIA DG can’t be removed immediately, govt tells SC
* Court to resume hearing of Hajj scandal next week instead of 15th* Registrar Office ordered to place Establishment Division’s report about FIA chief before bench
By Hasnaat Malik
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has refused to sack the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general on immediate basis while Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has issued a directive to the Supreme Court’s Registrar Office to place a report submitted by the Establishment Division secretary regarding the removal of the FIA chief before the court in the next week.
Previously, the court had fixed the hearing on March 15, but now the hearing of the suo moto case of alleged corruption in 2010 Hajj arrangements would resume in the next week.
A six-member apex court bench had, on March 1, directed the government to immediately remove Waseem Ahmed from the position of FIA DG for his alleged interference in the Hajj scandal despite the court’s restrictions imposed two months ago.
In its order, the court had said, “More than once it has been observed that the FIA chief, who himself is holding this post on contract basis, is responsible for not allowing the investigation into the instant case to proceed in a transparent manner. However, despite these observations, no action has been taken against him.”
On March 1, the apex court had observed that “appointments on contract basis are not allowed to be continued in terms of Section 14 of the Civil Servants Act 1973, and the policy unless the conditions specified therein are satisfied”.
In its reply, the Establishment Division had told the bench, comprising the CJP, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and Justice Ghulam Rabbani, that a committee, constituted by the prime minister to assess all the re-employment cases, had reviewed the case of the agency’s director general in two successive meetings on February 28 and March 4.
“Nevertheless, in deference to the observations and order of the apex court, Ahmad’s power as FIA DG in three suo moto cases – embezzlement in the Pakistan Steel Mills, corruption in the National Insurance Company Limited and misappropriation in the 2010 Hajj affairs – has already been taken away from him,” the division’s report said.
The report further said, “In these cases the powers of the DG have been entrusted to the senior most officers of Sindh and Punjab zones. They have been directed not to report in any manner to the DG about these cases and have also been directed to report directly to the SC.”
“As the main rationale for re-employment of Ahmed revolves around matters of national security, the committee was of the view that it was out of its scope to discuss and judge the gravity of the same and, therefore, it would be appropriate for the Interior Ministry to make another request to the court for a detailed briefing on the subject on the next hearing,” it added.
According to sources, the federal government’s decision to not to go for immediate removal of the FIA chief has been taken after consultation with legal experts.
As per reports, it is the second refusal of the government over the post of FIA chief. On December 17, 2009, the court had served a contempt notice on Interior Minister Rehman Malik for transferring the then FIA chief Tariq Khosa against the court’s will.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk