District and Sessions Judge Mujahid Mustaqeem Ahmad on Saturday took a strong exception to the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) failure to submit a complete challan in the National Insurance Corporation Limited (NICL) land scam involving Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid MPA Moonis Elahi and others, as the FIA declared Moonis guilty of embezzlement.
The judge also expressed his displeasure over FIA’s failure to appoint a new prosecutor for the case and gave a last chance to the agency to do the needful. An agency official had earlier presented a supplementary challan in the court wherein eight prosecution witnesses were included. FIA Additional Director General Zafar Qureshi and three judicial officers were among the witnesses.
The official also requested the court to adjourn the proceedings hearing another 15 days. Amjad Pervez advocate opposed the adjournment plea, saying FIA ADG Zafar Qureshi was using delay tactics to keep his client behind bars. He said for the last many hearings the agency had been seeking time from the court to complete the case challan and to appoint a new prosecutor, but had failed to do so as yet.
The judge, however, adjourned the proceedings until September 26, warning the FIA to submit a complete challan and appoint a prosecutor. Failure to do so would force the court to summon Zafar Qureshi in person, the judge ruled. Pervez said Zafar Qureshi’s request for another 15-day extension for presenting the final challan was illegal, as two challans of the same case could not be presented.
He demanded the court to order Qureshi to apprise the court why the FIA had failed to appoint a prosecutor and present the final challan so far.
