According to a Supreme Court press release issued on Saturday, the report, submitted by Establishment Secretary Abdul Rauf Chaudhry, justified the continuation of service of Waseem Ahmed on the grounds of matters concerning national security. — File Photo

ISLAMABAD: The government has refused to immediately remove FIA Director General Waseem Ahmed as per directives of the Supreme Court.

Sources told Dawn on Saturday that the Establishment Division had submitted to the apex court a written reply stating that immediate removal of the FIA chief was not possible.

In another development, according to APP news agency, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has directed the Supreme Court`s registrar office to place before a bench by Monday a report submitted by the establishment secretary regarding appointment on contract of the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency.

According to a Supreme Court press release issued on Saturday, the report, submitted by Establishment Secretary Abdul Rauf Chaudhry, justified the continuation of service of Waseem Ahmed on the grounds of matters concerning national security.

The Supreme Court had directed the government to remove Mr Ahmed within three days for his alleged interference in the Haj scam probe. The deadline expired on Friday.

A senior official at the Establishment Division confirmed that a one-page reply had been submitted to the court, but refused to divulge the contents.

But the sources said that the court was informed through the reply that the FIA director general had been dissociated from the cases of Pakistan Steel Mills, National Insurance Company Limited and the Haj scam, but his immediate removal was not possible because he was overseeing matters of national importance.

Mr Ahmed told reporters after attending a meeting of the Senate`s standing committee on interior that he was ready to voluntarily resign. He said he had been sandwiched between two giants — one seeking his removal and the other resisting it. “It seems that I will ultimately have to resign.”

While issuing the order for immediate removal of the FIA chief, the court had observed that it seemed quite evident that investigation into the Haj scam was not being conducted independently and in a transparent manner.

The chief justice had observed that it could hardly be believed that in the presence of the incumbent FIA director general an effective and impartial investigation into the case could be conducted in respect of whom specific observations had also been recorded by the court in its orders of Feb 10 and 15 expressing dissatisfaction over the investigation.

The FIA chief informed the Senate body that the prime minister`s son Abdul Qadir Gilani had paid Rs8 million as customs duty for importing a bullet-proof vehicle.

The committee was informed that a large number of FIA officials had been transferred to the National Accountability Bureau and there was a shortage of capable officials in the agency. A total of 3,733 employees are working in the FIA and their salary and other benefits are lower than those in other departments.

The committee, headed by Talha Mehmood, has recommended appointments in the FIA and increase in salary and benefits of its officials.