Recovery of heroin: Parliamentary panel irked by slow process of investigation

A parliamentary panel on Tuesday expressed its displeasure over slow process of investigation into recovery of 28kg and 3kg of heroin from two different flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) despite passage of so many months.
The meeting of Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat held here with Rana Muhammad Hayat Khan, MNA, in the chair, regretted over the delay in fixing responsibility against those involved in heroin smuggling through the national flag carrier.
"Do you know how much time you've wasted and still there has been no progress...this shows you people are not serious in bringing the culprits to book," remarked Rana Muhammad Hayat over the delay by concerned investigating officials.
He said that Customs and ANF (anti-narcotics force) authorities have failed to fix responsibility despite the recovery of 28kg and 3kg of heroin from two different PIA flights despite laps of considerable period of time, which he warned is not acceptable.
"I want the investigation to be completed as soon as possible and no lame excuse whatsoever is acceptable. Take them to task whoever is responsible in this crime and shameful kind of things," he told the concerned departments tasked with the investigation.
The Committee directed that chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) may constitute a joint investigation committee, comprising representatives of PIA, ANF and Airport Security Forces (ASF) headed by Customs department to expedite the investigation process so that culprits could be penalised accordingly.
The committee directed the joint investigation committee to finalise its report within two months and report back to the committee.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Sardar Mansib Ali Dogar, Parveen Masood Bhatti, Shehnaz Saleem, Nighat Parveen Mir, Malik Ibrar Ahmed, Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak, Moulvi Agha Muhammad, Syed Javaid Ali Shah, Dr Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto, Syed Ali Raza Abidi, and senior officers of the concerned ministries/departments.