Islamabad: Two Pakistani MPs have accused
Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani`s son of being involved in corruption in the hiring of accommodation for Haj pilgrims,
the Supreme Court has been told.
"Parliamentarians Pirzada Syed Ahmed Imran and Bilal
Yasin have not only accused Abdul Qadir Gilani but also his
close friend Zain Mohammad Sukhaira, who went to Jeddah thrice
even before the start of the Haj season," Federal
Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Waseem Ahmed told
a seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
The apex court had taken suo motu notice of complaints
about corruption and irregularities in Haj arrangements.
One of the complaints was made directly to the Chief Justice
by a Saudi prince.
Ahmed told the court yesterday that Sukhaira had left
Pakistan before the investigation into the scandal started.
There was no official reaction to the FIA chief`s
statement in court.
Gilani had sacked two members of his Cabinet ?- Religious
Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Kazmi and Science and Technology
Minister Azam Khan Swati -- after they publicly traded charges
over alleged corruption in the hiring of accommodation for
pilgrims.
Swati had also made a statement against Kazmi in the
Supreme Court.
Responding to Ahmed`s statement, the apex court
questioned why Sukhaira was not quizzed by investigators and
why the FIA could not find out whether the Prime Minister`s
son Abdul Qadir had travelled to Saudi Arabia.
The bench asked why the Pakistani ambassador to Saudi
Arabia was not contacted and why the statements of two
witnesses in Saudi Arabia, who had approached former federal
minister Azam Swati, had not been recorded.
Parliamentarians Imran and Yasin also accused former
Director General of Haj Rao Shakeel of embezzling Rs 200
million.
Bureau Report
