Pakistani authorities have recently arrested a notorious drug baron and investigators later traced his links with al Qaeda, a top official says to trigger speculations about terror network being financed through drug money.
Kamran Sikandari was nabbed when he tried to clear from the Karachi port illegal consignments of stuff used in the formation of heroin for subsequent transportation to Afghanistan. Acetic anhydride is a raw substance for manufacturing drugs by the pharma industries, but it is also used as a catalyst in making heroin.
The revelation was made at a meeting of the Senate standing committee on narcotics chaired by Parveen Kulsoom here on Monday. The Anti Narcotics Force (ANC) head of operations in Sindh said the culprit managed to clear several such consignments in the recent past because one of his brothers in customs department was helping him.
Brigadier Faizul Karim Khan Burki said this stuff is usually imported by the industry after obtaining a no objection certificate (NOC) from his force and manufacturing units keep a record of its usage. But Sikandari took it through the port by labelling it wrongly which customs authorities didn't check intentionally.
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Abdullah Yousuf also admitted there might have been the involvement of officials from his department. "Connivance is possible," he told the panel, confirming the presence of Sikandari's brother at a key post in customs.
Brigadier Burki told members Kamran had known al Qaeda links and he was wanted to international police (Interpol) also. The FBR chief did not oppose probe into the matter either by the parliamentary committee or some other official agency. Senator Kulsoom Parveen asked both departments to carry out further probe into the matter and report back to the panel.
NIGERIAN DRUG PUSHERS: Earlier, the committee had decide to summon Pakistan high commissioner posted in Nigeria and secret agencies officials to explain how drug -ushers from the oil-rich African country get visa. Arrests of Nigerian nationals on charges of smuggling has been rampant in the past decade.
A Senator referred to the foreign ministry's record to make a point that the embassy in Abuja had been issuing visas on fake or ambiguous documents. "There is something grossly wrong in the mission in Abuja," said Senator Enver Baig.
He questioned how did suspected Nigerians get Pakistani visa. "I am 200 percent sure that there is somebody in our mission who has arrangement with them (drug barons)," the answer came from himself.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi assured the panel to use muscles to investigate and punish if some official(s) were found involved in this business. "There can be black sheep in missions. I don't know. We will have to find a remedy for it," Shah said, adding: "I will not be lenient." He did not oppose when the member demanded to call the ambassador and concerned secret agencies to the committee.
An interior ministry official said agencies, including Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) investigate suspected applications before the issuance of visa. The committee asked to produce record of such cases referred to agencies in the past year and also Nigerian nationals overstaying visa limit in Pakistan.
REHMAT SHAH: The committee had also asked both the interior ministry and the anti-narcotics division to explain whether and when they plan to release a prominent newspaper owner, Rehmat Shah Afridi, held on the charges of carrying drugs.
Enver Baig also sought an explanation on reported allegation that Shah was tortured and kept behind bar because he refused to give a testimony against former premier Benazir Bhutto.