Petitioners seek contempt of court proceedings: DG FIA issued notice

The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday issued a notice to Director General FIA Syed Tehsin Anwar Shah with directives to be present along with PTV's ex-media advisor Mian Khurram Rasool in the court on January 20. A four-member bench of the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has been hearing a petition filed by Pervaiz Hussain and others.
The petitioner urged the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the DG FIA as the FIA had allegedly ignored court orders to apprehend Rasool. During the course of hearing, Rasheed A Rizvi, counsel for the petitioners, contended that Mian Khurram Rasool, in the capacity of media coordinator to the Prime Minister on Northern Pakistan Television, deceitfully and fraudulently extorted over Rs 430 million during the last year.
Rizvi added that Rasool received that amount on the pretext of managing a Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) quota and oil export licence to Nato forces in Afghanistan for two companies of the petitioners including Sahara Gas (pvt) Limited and Pak Delta Enterprises (pvt) Limited.
In his arguments, Rizvi said that Khurram Rasool and his brother Shahid Mehmood and one Ghulam Ghose managed to forge the signature of Secretary Petroleum and Natural Resources on various agreements. He further told the bench that forgery of signatures on the agreements came to the knowledge of the petitioners when they presented the documents for implementation to the relevant government departments, adding that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and Parco informed the petitioners that all the agreements presented were forged documents while no amount was received by them for or on behalf of the petitioners.
Rizvi pleaded that Khurram Rasool also allegedly got the support of officials of a bank in Islamabad where, he said, accounts were opened in the name of fake partnership without observing the State Bank of Pakistan's instructions in opening a new account. The bench was apprised that the matter was brought to the notice of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani who directed his Principal Secretary to write to Interior Secretary for initiation of an inquiry. While inquiry found Rasool guilty and an FIR was registered against him, his brother Shahid Mehmood and other accomplices and officials of that bank.
Rizvi added that FIA neither arrested any accused mentioned in the FIR nor did it conduct an investigation. Upon which, the petitioners filed writ petitions before Islamabad High Court against the DG FIA. The High Court issued directives to FIA on July 2011 to proceed with the matter strictly in accordance with law sans any fear or favour and to arrest the accused.
Rizvi informed the bench that no action was taken by the FIA in the case so far and prayed the court to grant the leave in the petitions in hand. The bench issued directives to the DG FIA to appear before the bench along with the accused on the next date of hearing. The hearing was adjourned till January 20.