Tag: Haj

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

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to submit a day-to-day progress report on the alleged corruption and mismanagement in Haj affairs with the registrar for perusal of Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed and asked it to interrogate Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's son, Abdul Qadir Gilani for his alleged involvement in the scam.
An eight-member special bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry,

ISLAMABAD - The FIA has cleared former minister for religious affairs Hamid Kazmi from corruption allegations levelled on him regarding the Haj scam. According to an FIA report, former Haj director general Rao Shakil and middleman Ahmad Faiz did not transfer any amount in Kazmi's bank account therefore he was cleared of the charges.
The 21-page report stated that there was no evidence that Shakil and Faiz had transferred any amount in Kazmi's accounts in Muslim Commercial Bank

ISLAMABAD - The Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) team probing Haj scam returned disappointed from Saudi Arabia on Thursday as it failed to grill the main accused of the scandal, Ahmad Faiz owing to the Saudi government's refusal to record the statements of Saudi nationals.
Interpol had issued red notice for Ahmad Faiz who had allegedly embezzled 18.32 million Saudi riyals in collaboration with the agents and officials of the Haj directorate in Makkah, a source said.
It

ISLAMABAD - The Ministry of Religious Affairs is considering a set of proposals aimed at facilitating Haj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia, on top of which is a recommendation to limit the duration of the pilgrims' stay to less than 40 days.
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Ahmed Shah and Minister of State for Religious Affairs Shagufta Jumani were given a detailed briefing by ministry officials on Wednesday.
The ministry suggested that PIA officials should be asked

ISLAMABAD - The investigation into the Haj scam is unlikely to reach its logical end as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team has not been able to obtain any concrete evidence since the government of Saudi Arabia has disallowed the FIA team to record statements of Saudi nationals.
A source in the FIA told Pakistan Today that the Saudi government had asked its citizens not to record any statement with the Pakistani officials.
The source also said the FIA team,

ISLAMABAD - The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team probing the Haj scam has recorded Interior Minister Rehman Malik's statement regarding the removal of former Haj director general (DG) Rao Shakeel's name from the exit-control list (ECL).
FIA DG Waseem Ahmad said the FIA team had recorded Malik's statement of Rehman Malik during which the minister explained his position on the removal of Shakeel's name from the ECL.
"Rehman Malik directed the interior secretary to

ISLAMABAD - The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team investigating the Haj scam on Sunday called Zain Iftikhar Sukhera, a close friend of Abdul Qadir Gilani, son of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for questioning.
Sukhera was quizzed at the agency's headquarters for his alleged involvement in Haj scam. FIA has found important clues regarding Sukhera's involvement in the Haj scam he could be arrested for that, a FIA source told Pakistan Today.
He said former Haj

LAHORE - An accountability court on Saturday summoned former Haj director general (DG) Major (r) Rao Shakeel Ahmed on January 21 to join the hearing of a reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against him. Earlier, the court had exempted Shakeel from appearance in court, as he was serving as Khanewal DCO and had to participate in several official meetings.
A reference has been filed against Shakeel accusing the former Haj DG of collaborating with his father

ISLAMABAD - The prime minister has not given any statement that the Haj operation would be conducted by the Foreign Affairs Ministry from next year, Federal Labour and Manpower Minister Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah told the National Assembly (NA) on Friday. "The PM has not given any statement that the Haj operation will be conducted by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the foreign minister himself said that the Foreign Office cannot take the responsibility," Khurshaid said while speaking

ISLAMABAD - FIA Director General Waseem Ahmed on Thursday told the Supreme Court that Abdul Qadir Gilani, son of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, was involved in the multi-million rupee Haj scam.
Quoting the statements of two legislators, PML-N's Bilal Yaseen and Imran Shah, the FIA DG said one Zain Muhammad Sukhaira, a close friend of PM's son, was also involved in the Haj scam.
A six-member special bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Javed Iqbal,

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the National Assembly on Monday that there was an alleged corruption of over Rs 36 million (1.6 million riyals) in Haj arrangements this year.
He was responding to opposition's complains that the government was not apprising the House about the details of the Haj scam.
Malik told the House that on the directives of the Interior Ministry, several accused, including former Haj DG Rao Shakeel, had been arrested and investigations

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested the nephew of former Religious Affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi for his alleged involvement in the Haj scam.
The FIA team arrested Kazmi's nephew Malik Khokhar from Lahore and raids were being carried out to arrest Rana Irfan, another one of Kazmi's relative accused in the scam, an FIA official told Pakistan Today.
He said Malik was arrested after the FIA team probing the haj scam received evidence regarding

FAISALABAD - Haj 2010 is likely to cast longtime and far-reaching impact on the credibility of the government as the Haj regulatory authority. Wikileaks' disclosures continued to haunt the whole world during last two weeks.
The repercussions of the leaks shook the corridors of power in Pakistan. However, the dust began to settle with every passing day as the overdose of the leakages led to a condition like indigestion.
Pakistanis have saved a part of their sense of taste

ISLAMABAD: Science and Technology Minister Mohammad Azam Khan Swati on Monday submitted a written statement to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in reference to the Haj corruption case, in which he has accused the minister for Religious Affairs of being involved in the scam. Swati submitted his statement to FIA Director General (DG) Waseem Ahmad, in which he quoted the Religious Affairs secretary as saying that Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi was involved in the Hajj

ISLAMABAD: A local court on Monday extended for three days the physical remand of joint secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Raja Aftab-ul-Islam, who is under trial for his alleged involvement in the Haj scam. Raja Aftab was arrested by FIA when he appeared in the Supreme Court on December 9.
Senior Civil Judge Kamran Basharat Mufti, while extending the remand, ordered the FIA to submit all details of the case on December 16, the next date of hearing. An FIA official told

ISLAMABAD: A seven-member Supreme Court bench, resuming hearing today of a suo motu action against alleged corruption in Haj arrangements, is likely to direct the government to devise a system to make the Haj process transparent and prevent irregularities.
The bench comprises of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman