ISLAMABAD: A local court on Thursday extended the physical remand of Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) Chairman Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali and another senior official in a case involving allegations of illegal recruitment, abuse of authority, and corruption.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) produced the PARC chairman and Ikhlaq Malik, Director Establishment, PARC, after the expiry of a day’s physical remand before the judicial magistrate, Ahmed Shehzad Gondal.
At the start of the hearing, the FIA prosecutor requested that the court extend the physical remand of the accused for another seven days to complete the investigation.
Former president Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) Riasat Ali Azad appeared before the court on behalf of the accused.
The defence counsel, arguing before the court, said that all appointments were made on merit following proper advertisements.
The prosecutor told the court that the accused are facing charges of illegal appointments and misuse of authority. The PARC chairman illegally appointed 332 individuals against only 164 sanctioned positions, he said, adding that the FIA has registered a case against Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali along with 18 other PARC officials. This investigation was initiated after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) referred the matter of irregularities in PARC appointments to the FIA for action, he said.
He said that further remand of the accused is required for collection of more evidence and conducting further investigation.
The prosecution maintained that substantial evidence was yet to be collected and further interrogation was necessary.
The court, after hearing arguments, extended the physical remand of both the accused for one day.
The accused including officers/officials of PARC nominated in the first information report include: Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Chairman, PARC, Mujahid Mujatab, Assistant Director, HR, PARC, Dr Muhammad Asim, PSO/Director (PSD)/ PARC, Ikhlaq Malik, Director (Estt), PARC, Dr Shehzad Asad, Deputy DG, PARC, ShahidMaqsood Gill, Member Natural Resources Division, PARC, Ghulam Sadiq Afridi Member (SSD) PARC.
The other accused includes DrZiaul Hassan, Member (ASD), PARC, Dr Imtiaz Hussain, Member Plant Sciences Division, PARC, Tariq Ali Nawaz, Director Establishment, PARC, Saima Akhtar, Deputy Director (HR), PARC, Muhammad Naveed Mushtaq Khan, Director Finance, PARC, Muhammad Ishaque, Secretary Council, PARC, Sajid Sharif, Senior Technical Officer, PARC, Tahir Saleem, Director (Logistics), PARC, Malik Muhammad Yousaf, Director (AZRI Bahawalpur), Member PARC, ZahidHussain, Assistant Director (Rec.) PARC,Dr Muhammad Asim, Director (CG and MOU), PARC and Muhammad Saeed-ullahYousafzai, Member Finance, PARC.
The case had been registered under Sections 34, 109, 409, 468, 471 PPC r/w 5(2)47 of PCA 1947.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.