Hajj scam case: Supreme Court gives government one more week to bring back FIA officials

The Supreme Court on Friday gave yet another week to the government to recall the transferred officials of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), probing Hajj and National Insurance Corporation Limited (NICL) scams.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing the millions of rupees Hajj corruption case during Hajj arrangements last year.
Abdul Hafeez Peerzada, lawyer for government, asked the court to grant two-week time for inducting Hussain Asghar and Javed Bukhari on their old posts, as prime minister was on a foreign visit. "The summary of notifications of their (Javed, Asghar) transfer has been okayed and it has been sent to the prime minister for approval. The PM is abroad; once he is back home, the transfer notifications will be issued", he told the court.
Meanwhile, the bench rejected FIA probe report into Hajj scam, saying that after transfer of the above mentioned FIA officials, there has been no progress in the case. "Due to this case, the national kitty has suffered a loss of Rs 460 million, which belongs to the tax payers of this country and it must be recovered at all costs", the bench maintained.
The bench also directed DG FIA to submit the applications of Javed Bukhari and Hussain Asghar, seeking dissociation from Hajj scam case, to the court. The FIA had claimed that the two officials sought wanted to separate themselves from the case at their own. If there were evidence like that, the DG would have to explain the reason behind their transfer, the bench noted. Hussain Asghar is thought to be one of the most dedicated and honest officers of FIA and as the head of its investigation team, he had unmasked faces of several bigwigs allegedly involved in the Haj scandal. The hearing was adjourned till May 13.