ISLAMABAD – A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team has started recording statements of private tour operators to investigate the statement of Umer Sherazi, ambassador of Pakistan in Saudi Arabia, that former Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi had received Rs 10,000 from every tour operator for each pilgrim.
The FIA team will investigate the documents and record the statements of owners of 630 tour operating companies across the country. “A total of 630 tour operators had arranged travel for 84,000 pilgrims and if Kazmi took Rs 10,000 per pilgrim, he received Rs 840 million from tour operators,” an FIA source told Pakistan Today on Wednesday.
The source said the FIA team had asked various questions from the tour operators, including whether anyone from the ministry had asked for bribes before the award of the haj quota. He said the FIA team had asked questions from tour operators about the Haj Compensation Fund (HCF) and were also investigating whether the money deposited by private tour operators in HCP was taken by them from the pilgrims or deposited it on their own.
“The FIA is also investigating whether private tour operators whom the Religious Ministry awarded haj quota were registered with the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan,” the source added.
