Resuming the hearing of Rs 5.34 billion National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam case, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that it was the duty of secretary commerce to register a case against Commerce Minister Amin Fahim for making an illegal appointment of Ayaz Khan Niazi as head of the company.
A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain was hearing a suo motu action. At the outset of hearing, the bench was informed that Federal Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood had accompanied President Asif Ali Zardari on his visit to China. The CJP ordered the authorities to summon the Federal Commerce Secretary, by Friday (today) or he would be arrested. Expressing dismay over inaction against the illegal appointment of Ayaz Khan Niazi, the court asked why no action was taken against him.
The bench also flayed the concerned authorities for not filing an appeal against the acquittal of Moonis Elahi and causing delay to bring back the money deposited in the foreign accounts of the accused. Addressing Moazam Jah, Director FIA Karachi, Justice Chaudhry regretted that whenever such cases come to the fore, he was never seen taking any swift action.
The FIA official informed the bench that the value of NICL land in Karachi was not up to the mark which hampered its speedy auction. About transaction of the money he said that some 16 people including Khawaja Akbar and Khalid Anwar were the beneficiaries as money had been transferred to their respective bank accounts. He also told the court that one of the major beneficiaries was incumbent Federal Commerce Minister Makdoom Amin Fahim.
During the proceedings, Justice Ghulam Rabbani's report was also submitted before the bench. The report recommended the initiation of a legal action against advisor to Prime Minister A. Rehman Malik for exerting pressure on the lead investigator of NICL scam Zafar Qureshi. In the report, the PML-Q leadership was held responsible for launching a media campaign against the apex judiciary through electronic media. The hearing was adjourned till June 11.