Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) has lodged a complaint against the ex-CEO of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for acquiring the position on the basis of a fake PhD degree, reports Geo.
Sheikh Akhtar Hussain remained CEO DRAP from 2018 till 2019. FIA has begun searching for Hussain to investigate the matter
The findings were discovered by the anti-corruption circle in FIA.
In the late hours of Friday night, a heavy contingent of officials from anti-corruption department and police reached the Gulberg residence of former Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi in Lahore to arrest him in a corruption case.
According to Elahi’s lawyer, pre-arrest bail had already been taken from a court until May 6 in the particular case. However, the team insisted that they need Elahi in a new case and they would not leave without arresting him.
Sometime later, the raiding team used an armoured vehicle to break down the main gate of Elahi’s house, arresting multiple staff members. Female police officers also took women into custody.
The plan was to arrest Elahi too, however, after a thorough search they couldn’t find him.
They also tried to force their way into the adjoining residence of PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, but they were resisted by Shujaat’s sons.
After the episode, Elahi’s son moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) to stop the police. Many politicians, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, strongly condemned the raid.
The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab has initiated an investigation against Najaf Hameed, the brother of former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hameed.
According to ACE, Najaf had “superseded several seniors for promotion to the Girdawar post and “accumulated assets beyond his own means”.
The department has also reached out to Rawalpindi and Chakwal deputy commissioners for Najaf’s records.
Najaf had been suspended from the post of deputy tehsil dar on February 16 over alleged misconduct.
Faiz Hameed has been criticised by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for interfering in political matters and exceeding his constitutional limits. The party’s Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz often lashes out at Faiz Hameed in her rallies, accusing him of playing a role in destabilising the country by supporting Imran Khan’s government.
A team from Punjab’s Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) was unable to arrest Federal Interior Minister, Rana Sanaullah, on Monday due to the non-cooperation of the Islamabad police.
The establishment’s director Syed Anwar Ali Shah alleged that the capital’s police officers misbehaved with them.
Earlier today, a local court in Rawalpindi directed the ACE team to arrest the minister and present him before the court in a case relating to corruption.
“The police officials neither recorded entry nor departure of the ACE team and nor did they comply with the court’s order,” Shah said.
He stated that his department will inform the court about the day’s events and will devise a strategy as per the court’s orders.
Prior to this, a local court in Rawalpindi, dismissed ACE’s plea seeking contempt of court proceedings against Sanaullah for not appearing in a corruption inquiry.
On Saturday, a judicial magistrate issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the federal minister over his non-appearance in an anti-corruption inquiry.
Non-bailable arrest warrants have been issued on Saturday in a corruption case for Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.
A spokesperson of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab said that it has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader after he failed to appear at an inquiry.
Special Judicial Magistrate Ghulam Akbar issued the arrest warrant for the interior minister in case number 19/20, said the ACE spokesperson.
“The warrants have been issued because Sanaullah failed to appear in the anti-corruption inquiry despite being summoned several times,” a spokesperson of ACE told Dawn.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), on its official Twitter account, said that a police party has departed to arrest Sanaullah and will soon reach the Kohsar police station.
“According to the rules, the process of arresting Rana Sanaullah will begin by informing the local police,” it added.
A day earlier, the FIA took PTI Senator Saifullah Niazi into “protective custody” for questioning in the foreign funding case.
In order to ensure the prompt resolution of all disciplinary cases and inquiries against tax employees engaged in corruption and dishonest activities in field formations, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) established a new Section on Friday called “Discipline/Inquiries.”
A new Section with the nomenclature “Discipline/Inquiries” is hereby created in the Admn/HR Wing, FBR (HQ), Islamabad with immediate effect in order to ensure proper follow-up of all disciplinary cases/inquiries of officers (BS-16 and above) of FBR (HQ) and IR field formations with a view to ensuring timely disposal of such cases, according to an office order issued by the FBR on Friday.
According to Brecoder, a secretary or second secretary who works for the specified Section will be in charge and reporting to the Chief (HRM-IR), FBR.
The FBR has also been ordered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to fully abide by the guidelines of the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020 when taking disciplinary action and conducting investigations against dishonest tax officers.
The FBR chairman has directed the Revenue Division/FBR to rigorously adhere to the following instructions in all disciplinary processes and inquiries launched against the officers, in accordance with the directives of the prime minister:
The Civil Servants (Efficiency & Discipline) Rules, 2020, Rule 10 read with Rule 12 shall govern how the chosen inquiry officer would conduct the inquiry processes. The same must be finished within sixty (60) days of the date the inquiry order was issued, or within any further time the authority may provide.
All Directors General, Chief Commissioners, Chief Collectors, Commissioners, and Collectors of FBR shall keep the relevant case record in safe custody while forwarding the recommendation to begin disciplinary proceedings against any officer(s) or official in order to ensure safe custody of the record in an inquiry.
In accordance with the guidelines outlined in Rule 8 of the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020, all heads of field offices shall also see to it that pertinent records of the case and other related documents are timely provided to the inquiry officer or the inquiry committee, as the case may be, through the designated departmental representative (DR). This must be done within seven days of the date of the inquiry order.
The Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) summoned former interior minister and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed in a corruption case tomorrow (Friday).
The accusations against him are that he embezzled millions of rupees on account of fees in the sale of state land to Life Residencia Islamabad Housing Society. In this regard, ACE also summoned the management of the housing society.
According to Dawn, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader has claimed that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif has a personal grudge against Rasheed. The leader didn’t comment on ACE inquiry but he said that “he [Rasheed] is among those the Sharifs are not going to spare as long they are in power”.
Earlier, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed a Rs720 million laundering case against Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Moonis Elahi.
At the time, the PML-Q leader alleged that he was being pressurised by the PML-N. He said, “The PML-N is at a loss to understand that it can pressure me to change my loyalty towards former premier and PTI chairman Imran Khan. We will not abandon Khan, come what may.”
Former Prime Minister (PM) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi’s brother Ahmed Mujtaba has been summoned by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab over his alleged involvement in a corruption case, reports Geo News.
The former first lady’s brother illegally occupied government land in Depalpur, which is in Okara District. He is accused of “illegally leasing government land earmarked for a market and seizing government land through the chairman of market committee Tahir Zahoor”. Later, he had shops constructed there.
ACE has asked Mujtaba, secretary Tahir Tanveer and eight others to appear before the Sahiwal office of the anti-corruption department on July 6 (tomorrow).
The investigation has been opened following Bushra Bibi’s audio leak in which she directed PTI digital media head Dr Arslan Khalid to accuse the former Opposition parties of “treason”.
Last month, ACE registered cases against former Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar and his brothers for the illegal transfer of state-owned 900 kanals of land. However, the land was transferred by Buzdar’s father to his sons when they were all minors in 1982.
The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) team raided to arrest former Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar and his brothers’ houses in Dera Ghazi (DG) Khan and Taunsa Sharif over the matter of the illegal transfer of state-owned 900 kanals of land.
However, Buzdar and his brothers were not at their houses at the time. It is pertinent to mention that the former CM and his siblings shared protective bail with the raiding team earlier, which they had been granted by the Lahore High Court (LHC) till June 30.
Following the raids, Buzdar said that the Punjab government is carrying out retaliatory actions, adding that they [his family] can’t be intimidated. He took a jibe at the incumbent Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz, saying that the police and administration have become puppets.
“I did not take any kind of revenge during my tenure. We will not make excuses for illness or flee the country,” he added.
Earlier, ACE registered cases against Buzdar and his brothers for the illegal transfer of state-owned 900 kanals of land.
The state-owned lands are reportedly worth millions of rupees. They were seized in Taunsa, DG Khan.
Cases against Buzdar were registered after Deputy Commissioner DG Khan submitted an inquiry report in this regard. DG Khan ACE is investigating the case in detail.
According to the police complaint, on September 4, 1982, around 474 kanals and 12 marlas of state land in DG Khan was “bogusly mutated” in favour of Fateh Muhammad Buzdar’s sons, which are Usman Buzdar and his two younger brothers, reports Geo News.
The transfer was illegal, as all three brothers at the time were minors. Usman Buzdar was 13, Umar Buzdar was 12 and Tahir Buzdar was 3.
As of the year 2021, the cost of the land has been estimated to be Rs4,98,83,641.
Last month, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Attaullah Tarar said that the incumbent government has decided to move ACE against the former Punjab CM. He had alleged that Buzdar had acquired assets worth Rs10 billion when he was chief minister from 2018 to 2022.
Pakistan Customs has intensified goods inspection at all international airports to prohibit the smuggling of recently banned commodities. The federal government prohibited the items in SRO No. 598(I)/2022, issued May 19, 2022, by revising the Import Policy Order, 2022.
This 24-hour monitoring at international terminals to prevent smuggling has already resulted in multiple confiscation of these items disguised as legitimate passenger baggage.
Banned commodities like foodstuff, fruits, sanitary wares, used mobile phones, and branded shoes were found in commercial quantities during scanning and inspection at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on May 23, 2022.
The aforementioned items were detained/seized in accordance with Sector 168 of the Customs Act of 1969 for violating SRO No. 598(I)/2022 (Import Policy Order, 2022) and Sections 16 and 139 of the Customs Act of 1969.
While applauding Pakistan Customs’ efforts, the Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) reaffirmed the FBR’s unwavering determination to strengthen policing strategies at all airports, seaports, and land border stations to ensure the avoidance of trafficking of goods, including newly banned items.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and FBR Chairman, on the other hand, have issued instructions not to bother genuine passengers bringing in goods in non-commercial/small quantities for personal use, and to assist such passengers at airports to the greatest extent permitted by law.
People in Pakistan were outraged by the Customs move, particularly those who had been thoroughly scanned and shared their side of the story on social media.