ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court bench hearing complaints about mismanagement in Haj operations criticised on Thursday “the means being adopted by the government to hush up the investigation” into the alleged scam and summoned a list of senior officers on contract both in police and the Federal Investigation Agency.
A six-judge special bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, had taken notice of a plethora of complaints about corruption and irregularities in Haj arrangements.
The court asked Establishment Secretary Chaudhry Abdul Rauf to furnish the list by Friday. He was also asked to justify necessity and interest of the government in retaining such officers in senior posts as the inspector general and the director general.
The Chief Justice expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi and said that about 75 people had been killed this month, criticising the government for appointing Sindh IG Sultan Salahuddin Babar on contract.
“When such sensitive posts are filled on contract, issues of command and control are bound to emerge like the one we are seeing in Karachi,” he said.
The court said that after receiving the list it would issue notices to the officers to appear before it and explain under what authority they had been appointed on contract and why notifications for their appointments should not be cancelled.
The bench also objected to the appointment of Syed Jawad Ali Shah Bukhari, a BS-21 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan, and his placement at the disposal of the FIA to conduct investigations into the Haj scandal, despite the fact that the officer was not a member of the FIA and, therefore, would work under FIA Director General Waseem Ahmed, who had been disassociated from the probe.
The court noted that Jawed Bukhari, who had previously worked as Provincial Police Officer (PPO) in Balochistan but now only made in charge of the Haj investigations, would be supervised by a person (Waseem Ahmed) who after reaching superannuation had been appointed on a contract basis.
Jawed Bukhari, who was present in the court, also expressed reservations over his appointment. He said that without being a member of the FIA it would not be possible for him to deliver.
“It is indeed very strange that in disciplinary forces like police and the FIA where people have to work in a well-defined discipline persons supervising the forces have been permitted and are holding the charge on a contract basis,” the court lamented.
“Strict action should be taken against the FIA DG who has spoiled the entire case,” the chief justice observed. He said that when Jawed Bukhari had to report to the DG then how would he investigate the case honestly. “It seems that someone is being protected.”
Justice Javed Iqbal, a member of the bench, said the investigations done so far would only help the accused getting free from the trial court within days.
“We were expecting that the government would itself take all necessary steps to ensure transparent investigation in the case to bring the accused to book, but we are constrained to observe that different devices are being adopted to hush up or hamper the investigation,” the court observed.
It said: “In this behalf the notification (of appointing Jawed Bukhari) clearly indicates that the government has not realised so far the intention and object of conducting the investigations in a transparent manner, particularly so because on the basis of this notification no one, including the person appointed, would be in a position to legally exercise the jurisdiction in accord with relevant provisions of the law unless he is made a member of the FIA.
“The notification has either been issued intentionally or by a person who has no knowledge about the law at all.”
Pointing towards Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, the court said that it was in the interest of the government to promote and encourage junior officers waiting for promotion, instead of employing persons on contract unless their services were indispensable, particularly with regard to discipline forces like police and the FIA.
The attorney general was directed to take up with the government the matter relating to appointment of Jawed Bukhari as member of the FIA so that he could continue with the investigations in accordance with the law without being influenced by any quarter or high-up.
The court praised the role of Religious Affairs Secretary Shaukat Hayat Durrani who informed it that about 18,000 branches of six banks had started paying back 700 Saudi riyals each to 26,000 pilgrims. “Around 7,622 pilgrims have been returned the money, while the remaining would get the payment by January 25,” he said.
The court will take up case on January 27.
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