Hajj on government expenses: FIA issues notices to 448 Hajis

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has included 248 Hujjaj, who performed Hajj on government expenses in 2010, in the list of those involved in Hajj corruption scam and issued notices to them for recovery of the amount spent on them. The Agency is planning to issue arrest warrants of those, who did not record their statements with the FIA, sources said.
Notices for recovery were also issued to 200 persons, who performed Hajj on government expense in 2009, FIA sources privy to the investigation into the Hajj scandal revealed to Business Recorder on Tuesday. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken suo motu notice of the Hajj corruption. After that FIR was registered in Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Agency vide number 05/2010. Notices were issued to all 448 persons, majority are journalists and were sent on Hajj by Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
The FIA filed case against the 448 persons under sections 109, 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 3, 4, and 34 and section 5(2)47 of PPC regarding fraud, cheating, forgery, committing crime outside Pakistan, assistance and advise in crime. FIA sources said that all 448 persons have been issued notices and were directed to appear before the investigation team of the FIA to record their statements.
The action was taken against the 248 persons who performed Hajj in 2010 and 200 persons in 2009, on government expenses on the instructions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the FIA is bound to recover the money from them, sources said. The FIA sources said that after receiving orders from the high officials of the Agency to issue notices to 248 persons for recovery, a letter was sent to Ministry of Religious Affairs to ascertain as how much amount could be recovered from 248 persons.
The Religious Affairs Ministry fixed Rs 82,800 for recovery from each of the 248 people performed Hajj in 2010 and Rs 79,763 each from 200 persons who performed Hajj in 2009, sources said. They said that notices were sent to them and if a person did not comply with the notice, FIA would issue arrest warrant against them. Pakistan International Airline (PIA) sources said that the last Hajj flight of PIA was fined some 800,000 Saudi Riyals for late entry in Saudi Arabia and the government decided to charge this amount from the people who were travelling in the last flight and they were issued notices for recovery.