The special parliamentary committee investigating the Haj corruption case has told Central Rawalpindi Special Judge Khalid Bashir in its 20 page report that former Haj director general was involved in the corruption of 3.6 million riyals in hiring of buildings for pilgrims. Former religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi, former Haj DG Rao Shakeel and former joint secretary Aftabul Islam were present in the courtroom when the proceedings were being conducted on Saturday.
NAB prosecutors Chaudhry Zulfikar and Chaudhry Azhar presented two members of the parliamentary committee Bilal Yasin and Imran Shah and two pilgrims Tayyab Qureshi and Mohammad Ali Khan as witnesses, who recorded their statements in the court. The members of the parliamentary committee presented their 20 page report to the court which was made part of the case. In their separate statements, the members said it had become clear that former Haj DG Rao Shakil had hired 87 buildings at a distance of four-and-a-half to five kilometers from Haram Sharif at higher rates and in this way there was a corruption of 3.6 million riyals. Both the pilgrims recounted the happenings of 2010 Haj and said there were no bathrooms and no arrangement for drinking water. In addition, the pilgrims were not informed about their rooms and the buildings were at such a distance that the pilgrims could not reach the mosque at the time of the prayers.
