Re: Guys, Iftikhar chouldary can return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
Do this way
Guys, CAN Iftikhar chaudhray return the HAJ corruption money to Haji"
Do this way
Guys, CAN Iftikhar chaudhray return the HAJ corruption money to Haji"
Re: Guys, Iftikhar chouldary can return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
I clicked on this thread thinking the thread starter would talk about this case but looks like someones own previous grudge is talking behind it. Wasted my time.
Yes he will pass a good judgment, did u read his remarks to Hamid Saeed Kazmi? how he grilled him?
He cannot just mess with the whole gov. right now as neither does he have a strong support behind him as he had against mush nor he wants to get support from the army. All the lawyers are divided. He will give strong judgments against this gov. n its strong ministers in 2012 n 2013 I feel when he will be leaving n it wouldnt matter if he gets fired again.But right now who is there to fill that vacuume?
I clicked on this thread thinking the thread starter would talk about this case but looks like someones own previous grudge is talking behind it. Wasted my time.
Yes he will pass a good judgment, did u read his remarks to Hamid Saeed Kazmi? how he grilled him?
He cannot just mess with the whole gov. right now as neither does he have a strong support behind him as he had against mush nor he wants to get support from the army. All the lawyers are divided. He will give strong judgments against this gov. n its strong ministers in 2012 n 2013 I feel when he will be leaving n it wouldnt matter if he gets fired again.But right now who is there to fill that vacuume?
Bilal_Mushi
Minister (2k+ posts)
Re: Guys, Iftikhar chouldary can return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
Bhai, only one institution is working in Pakistan and you want him to resign? Leave your (Musharraf’s era) grudges aside and let him do fabulous work he is doing.
Bhai, only one institution is working in Pakistan and you want him to resign? Leave your (Musharraf’s era) grudges aside and let him do fabulous work he is doing.
Guys, CAN Iftikhar chouldary return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
Question to all
Do you guys think that iftikhar choudary can pass a judgement that haj scandal or corruption money back to haji, do you see any possibility?
In my opinion, if he can not pass jusdgement, he should go home. enough is enough, he can not implement his decision nor he can pass judgement. Look like he is TOAST. He should spend time with his family and bring some other guys, He cant bring change in pakistan soceity and many peiople killed bcoz of him. but he got his seat back and he forget all poor people same as politician.
SC expresses dissatisfaction over probe into Hajj scandal
Updated at: 1238 PST, Thursday, December 09, 2010
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has expressed dissatisfaction over the investigation being conducted into Hajj corruption scandal, Geo News reported on Thursday.
The court also raised its serious reservations on DG FIA Wasim Ahmed. Chief Justice remarked that current investigation into the scandal shows clear dishonesty of the FIA.
The federal minister Azam Sawati informed the court that, in a federal cabinet meeting, he had asked the Prime Minister for punishing federal minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi.
The courtroom was full of Hajj pilgrims during the hearing.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry heard a suo motu notice case regarding the alleged corruption in hajj arrangements.
The court also expressed displeasure over the issue that investigation into the scam is being carried out by a low rank officer (inspector).
The apex court adjourned the hearing of the case till December 13.
Bilal_Mushi
Minister (2k+ posts)
Re: Guys, Iftikhar chouldary can return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
Sorry, the thread starter is the same faqira786 who posted this comment just now in a video thread. Leave him alone today he is up and high.
Re: Haven't we Forget 6th December?????
Sorry, the thread starter is the same faqira786 who posted this comment just now in a video thread. Leave him alone today he is up and high.
Re: Haven't we Forget 6th December?????
What are you talking about ???? Wake-up... I value your love for Musharraf but yaar. The video is about Babri mosque.
Originally Posted by faqira786 
Who is the responsible for this in your opinion
1- Muhsaraf
2- Two brother (Maulana Abudl Aziz and Abdul Rashid Ghazi)
3- Both
In my opinion, I will take more responsible to two brothers. I still remember and watiching program live. Two brother should have come out and willing to go jail or face charges. Lifes could have save and masjid was not demoslished. Two rothers approach were not right at that time.
Who is the responsible for this in your opinion
1- Muhsaraf
2- Two brother (Maulana Abudl Aziz and Abdul Rashid Ghazi)
3- Both
In my opinion, I will take more responsible to two brothers. I still remember and watiching program live. Two brother should have come out and willing to go jail or face charges. Lifes could have save and masjid was not demoslished. Two rothers approach were not right at that time.
Bilal_Mushi
Minister (2k+ posts)
Re: Guys, Iftikhar chouldary can return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
Supreme Court Recovers 2 Billion From Rental Power Companies........
Supreme Court Recovers 2 Billion From Rental Power Companies........
Bilal_Mushi
Minister (2k+ posts)
Re: Guys, Iftikhar chouldary can return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Re: Guys, Iftikhar chouldary can return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
The duty of judges is to give verdicts according to the laws of the country.
The verdicts can be implemented by the Government, but if the Government itself is not Law abiding, then there is no way the judgment can be carried out.
It is pity that we are expecting that a non-law abiding government will listen to the verdicts of the Judges of the country.
The duty of judges is to give verdicts according to the laws of the country.
The verdicts can be implemented by the Government, but if the Government itself is not Law abiding, then there is no way the judgment can be carried out.
It is pity that we are expecting that a non-law abiding government will listen to the verdicts of the Judges of the country.
Re: Guys, Iftikhar chouldary can return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
nothing is going to happen
like in all previous cases most probbably our judiciary plus ppl will forget hamid kazemis corruptionj and he and other looters will stay in their place safe and sound
our whole system is rotten,judiciary included
we need islamisation
iftikhar chaudery is part of system or as allah is my witness i promise he would never have become chief justice
all is drama to buy some more time,but few ppl have eyes,alas
nothing is going to happen
like in all previous cases most probbably our judiciary plus ppl will forget hamid kazemis corruptionj and he and other looters will stay in their place safe and sound
our whole system is rotten,judiciary included
we need islamisation
iftikhar chaudery is part of system or as allah is my witness i promise he would never have become chief justice
all is drama to buy some more time,but few ppl have eyes,alas
Re: Guys, Iftikhar chouldary can return the HAJ corruption money to HAJI
Our so called uninamious cj,altough judges are never elected ,is expert in seeking public attention ,by giving shutup calls to weak civil servents every know they never respond but still primary decisions pending like NRO revision,BOP,steelmills,khananikalia,president dual office,18th ammendment partial decision,hudaibia/ money laundering bank loans lawyers bribery cases why bcz lawyers who pleading like rizvi,muneer,haider,aitezaz are gettingtting ople are ge good amount from party & govt.haji,s will also get like people are getting sugar from supreme court,& economical well being after azad adlia.topi drama to continue scape goats weak civil servant,drummers are ready to drum.
Our so called uninamious cj,altough judges are never elected ,is expert in seeking public attention ,by giving shutup calls to weak civil servents every know they never respond but still primary decisions pending like NRO revision,BOP,steelmills,khananikalia,president dual office,18th ammendment partial decision,hudaibia/ money laundering bank loans lawyers bribery cases why bcz lawyers who pleading like rizvi,muneer,haider,aitezaz are gettingtting ople are ge good amount from party & govt.haji,s will also get like people are getting sugar from supreme court,& economical well being after azad adlia.topi drama to continue scape goats weak civil servant,drummers are ready to drum.
canadian
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Rs25000 Commission Per Haji Taken In Pakistan !!!
FIA arrests joint secy in Hajj corruption case
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday arrested the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ Joint Secretary (Hajj) Aftabul Islam Raja over alleged involvement in corruption of acquiring residential buildings for Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.
According to FIA sources, Raja has been arrested in light of a preliminary report prepared after interrogating the then director general Rao Shakeel. Rao had been removed and arrested following the emergence of the Hajj accommodation scandal.
Following the announcement of Hajj Policy 2010, Raja had gone to Saudi Arabia to finalise accommodation arrangements for around 80,000 Pakistani pilgrims under the government scheme.
Raja returned leaving the hiring process incomplete, after which Religious Secretary Agha Sarwar Qazalbash went to the kingdom to complete the process.
A parliamentary hiring review committee, after visiting Saudi Arabia, had submitted a report before the National Assembly and Senate standing committees on religious affairs and unveiled massive corruption in the process of acquiring buildings. The committee had mentioned that most of the hired housing units were sub-standard and violated the set criteria.
The alleged corruption case is now being heard by the Supreme Court, which took suo moto notice of the issue after receiving reports from different quarters. app(www.thenews.com.pk)
FIA arrests joint secy in Hajj corruption case
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday arrested the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ Joint Secretary (Hajj) Aftabul Islam Raja over alleged involvement in corruption of acquiring residential buildings for Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.
According to FIA sources, Raja has been arrested in light of a preliminary report prepared after interrogating the then director general Rao Shakeel. Rao had been removed and arrested following the emergence of the Hajj accommodation scandal.
Following the announcement of Hajj Policy 2010, Raja had gone to Saudi Arabia to finalise accommodation arrangements for around 80,000 Pakistani pilgrims under the government scheme.
Raja returned leaving the hiring process incomplete, after which Religious Secretary Agha Sarwar Qazalbash went to the kingdom to complete the process.
A parliamentary hiring review committee, after visiting Saudi Arabia, had submitted a report before the National Assembly and Senate standing committees on religious affairs and unveiled massive corruption in the process of acquiring buildings. The committee had mentioned that most of the hired housing units were sub-standard and violated the set criteria.
The alleged corruption case is now being heard by the Supreme Court, which took suo moto notice of the issue after receiving reports from different quarters. app(www.thenews.com.pk)
canadian
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Rs25000 Commission Per Haji Taken In Pakistan !!!
Hajj Odyssey : Peeping into sordid affairs of religious ministry —By Saeed Minhas
Just to give you an account of what has transpired, basically in three phases, between the last Hajj and this year’s pilgrimage, let’s go through Rao Shakeel’s phase, Secretary Agha Sarwar Qazalbash’s shuttling phase and execution during the post Hajj phase. How all this ended up in such a mess that the Pakistani government and the nation has to cut a sorry figure before the Islamic world as well as the international community besides developing fissures between Saudi and Pakistani governments over the accusations of commissions, corruption and worst arrangements, will also be given some touches for your understanding.
Such was the commotion of all these sordid arrangements and ensuing blame-game that our Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi not only had to save his skin from being torn apart in Makkah by Pakistani pilgrims and those who had paid his front-men the money but yet failed to get visas, but the beleaguered minister was also taken into protective custody by Saudi authorities just before his departure after Hajj in Jeddah. Our moles confirmed that the minister was given a silence orders by an ordinary Shurta (policemen) that he could neither talk to the media nor issue any statement while standing on Saudi soil.
The minister, after receiving around Rs 5,000 each for 25,000 pilgrims in the name of compensation from the Saudi Hajj ministry, had started issuing statements to Pakistani media outlets about the poor arrangements of the Saudis, which certainly prompted the hosts to not only shut him up, but formally ask him to avoid seeking another tour of the holy lands. The hosts were so crossed that our sources confirmed they had taken this matter at the top most level and had even asked to take the minister and the officials concerned to task for attempting to tarnish the brotherly relations between both countries.
Starting with the first phase, hosts of interviews in Pakistan and with officials and pilgrims during the Hajj tour, our understanding is that since the previous year’s Hajj and the Hajj report 2009 had brought lot of criticism on the Ministry of Religious Affairs, therefore, some uprooting of the established mafias from Makkah’s Hajj Mission resulted in Rao Shakeel’s, a DMG officer and a friend of Premier Gilani, placement in Makkah as the director of the mission.
Under the much maligned and chaotic Hajj policy 2010 announced by Hamid Saeed Kazmi, a 16 member hiring committee was formed with a representative of the ministry, while Joint Secretary Raja Aftabul Islam was dispatched to Makkah and Madina to finalise the rental buildings in consultation with Hajj Mission DG Rao Shakeel. Without going into the details of the very unusual hiring committee, which was mostly placed in Islamabad, Rao and Raja were asked to hire maximum buildings within a two-kilometre radius of the holy mosques in both cities. By the first week of June, Rao along with Raja managed to finalise 87 buildings at an average rent of SAR 3,300 per pilgrim, out of which only four were outside the mandatory two-kilometre radius.
Now during this rental phase, when Religious Affairs Secretary Qazalbash claims that he allowed over Rs 700 million in expenses to Rao, the commission plus referral mafias duly backed by Hazarvi and Sher Zai coterie were so active that when their Khan links were ignored in hiring the buildings, a subtle war of words and leg-pulling immediately erupted between the foreign service and the DMG cadres. Raja, the secretary of the parliamentary hiring committee, meanwhile, had some scuffles with some warring parties and in one incident, he was escorted out of his room to a safer place by the Saudi police because certain Khan groups were trying to pressurise him to accept their buildings instead of going after his blue-eyed guys. If nothing else, the secretary announced to summon Rao back to Pakistan to cool down these tingling skirmishes between the two influential cadres of our civil services. But before reverting Rao to the ministry, the secretary had already released the above mentioned monies to Rao, out of which Rs 340 million, half of which went directly to the Saudi government and half in advance payments to owners of these finalised rented buildings, stood disbursed by these two officials and all of this was approved without any disagreement by Secretary Qazalbash. Not only this, the secretary also approved, without any objection, the release of another Rs 420 million to Rao for disbursement to the Saudis at the rate of SAR 1,500 per pilgrim for their stay in Mina, Arafat and Mazdalfa – three sacred places within a radius of about 15 kilometres – where pilgrims have to spend four out of five nights to perform the rituals of Hajj. Now the second phase comes in, where while replacing Rao with Sultan Shah as the Hajj Mission DG in Makkah, Qazalbash learned from Hazarvi and Zai groups that Sultan Shah being a stop-gap administrator and new comer might not help anyone’s cause – a cause to make as much as they could from the open-ended funds of the pilgrims. Therefore, ministry sources reveal that Qazalbash first banned the procurement of any new rental buildings and kept this ban for four months – the same period when all Hajj missions of other countries were renting out important buildings near Harem. However, when Qazalbash managed to find some positive gestures from the JUI leadership of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, sources confirmed, he embarked upon the journey to the holy cities in person, and during his stay, managed to finalise another 138 rental buildings in Makkah, besides helping some appointments of Khudamul Hajjaj (servants of pilgrims) and officials on the recommendations of JUI leaders. Ironically, out of these buildings finalised by Qazalbash himself, only 26 fell within a two kilometre radius, as announced by the federal minister in his purported Hajj policy 2010. The rest of the buildings approved for rentals by the incumbent secretary were within the range of three-to-nine kilometres from the holy mosque, without even considering any transportation facility for those over 100,000 pilgrims who would be staying in these buildings. The average rent for this new set of rentals was considered to be about SAR 3,450 per pilgrim. It was during this stay that Qazalbash was offered by one of many Saudi princes, namely Bandar Bin Sultan, to hire his buildings within a radius of two kilometres at SAR 3,200 per pilgrim – a fraction less than what the secretary was finalising with a nine-kilometre radius. The secretary, however, insisted that the Saudi prince give him the same buildings for SAR 2,500 (remember he himself was in the process of finalising buildings at an average rate of SAR 3,450 from mysterious others). The secretary, officials of the religious ministry claim, asked the prince to give him the buildings for SAR 2,500 because a parliamentary committee comprising of senior parliamentarians – some of whom were tour operators... (www.thedailytimes.com)
Hajj Odyssey : Peeping into sordid affairs of religious ministry —By Saeed Minhas
Just to give you an account of what has transpired, basically in three phases, between the last Hajj and this year’s pilgrimage, let’s go through Rao Shakeel’s phase, Secretary Agha Sarwar Qazalbash’s shuttling phase and execution during the post Hajj phase. How all this ended up in such a mess that the Pakistani government and the nation has to cut a sorry figure before the Islamic world as well as the international community besides developing fissures between Saudi and Pakistani governments over the accusations of commissions, corruption and worst arrangements, will also be given some touches for your understanding.
Such was the commotion of all these sordid arrangements and ensuing blame-game that our Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi not only had to save his skin from being torn apart in Makkah by Pakistani pilgrims and those who had paid his front-men the money but yet failed to get visas, but the beleaguered minister was also taken into protective custody by Saudi authorities just before his departure after Hajj in Jeddah. Our moles confirmed that the minister was given a silence orders by an ordinary Shurta (policemen) that he could neither talk to the media nor issue any statement while standing on Saudi soil.
The minister, after receiving around Rs 5,000 each for 25,000 pilgrims in the name of compensation from the Saudi Hajj ministry, had started issuing statements to Pakistani media outlets about the poor arrangements of the Saudis, which certainly prompted the hosts to not only shut him up, but formally ask him to avoid seeking another tour of the holy lands. The hosts were so crossed that our sources confirmed they had taken this matter at the top most level and had even asked to take the minister and the officials concerned to task for attempting to tarnish the brotherly relations between both countries.
Starting with the first phase, hosts of interviews in Pakistan and with officials and pilgrims during the Hajj tour, our understanding is that since the previous year’s Hajj and the Hajj report 2009 had brought lot of criticism on the Ministry of Religious Affairs, therefore, some uprooting of the established mafias from Makkah’s Hajj Mission resulted in Rao Shakeel’s, a DMG officer and a friend of Premier Gilani, placement in Makkah as the director of the mission.
Under the much maligned and chaotic Hajj policy 2010 announced by Hamid Saeed Kazmi, a 16 member hiring committee was formed with a representative of the ministry, while Joint Secretary Raja Aftabul Islam was dispatched to Makkah and Madina to finalise the rental buildings in consultation with Hajj Mission DG Rao Shakeel. Without going into the details of the very unusual hiring committee, which was mostly placed in Islamabad, Rao and Raja were asked to hire maximum buildings within a two-kilometre radius of the holy mosques in both cities. By the first week of June, Rao along with Raja managed to finalise 87 buildings at an average rent of SAR 3,300 per pilgrim, out of which only four were outside the mandatory two-kilometre radius.
Now during this rental phase, when Religious Affairs Secretary Qazalbash claims that he allowed over Rs 700 million in expenses to Rao, the commission plus referral mafias duly backed by Hazarvi and Sher Zai coterie were so active that when their Khan links were ignored in hiring the buildings, a subtle war of words and leg-pulling immediately erupted between the foreign service and the DMG cadres. Raja, the secretary of the parliamentary hiring committee, meanwhile, had some scuffles with some warring parties and in one incident, he was escorted out of his room to a safer place by the Saudi police because certain Khan groups were trying to pressurise him to accept their buildings instead of going after his blue-eyed guys. If nothing else, the secretary announced to summon Rao back to Pakistan to cool down these tingling skirmishes between the two influential cadres of our civil services. But before reverting Rao to the ministry, the secretary had already released the above mentioned monies to Rao, out of which Rs 340 million, half of which went directly to the Saudi government and half in advance payments to owners of these finalised rented buildings, stood disbursed by these two officials and all of this was approved without any disagreement by Secretary Qazalbash. Not only this, the secretary also approved, without any objection, the release of another Rs 420 million to Rao for disbursement to the Saudis at the rate of SAR 1,500 per pilgrim for their stay in Mina, Arafat and Mazdalfa – three sacred places within a radius of about 15 kilometres – where pilgrims have to spend four out of five nights to perform the rituals of Hajj. Now the second phase comes in, where while replacing Rao with Sultan Shah as the Hajj Mission DG in Makkah, Qazalbash learned from Hazarvi and Zai groups that Sultan Shah being a stop-gap administrator and new comer might not help anyone’s cause – a cause to make as much as they could from the open-ended funds of the pilgrims. Therefore, ministry sources reveal that Qazalbash first banned the procurement of any new rental buildings and kept this ban for four months – the same period when all Hajj missions of other countries were renting out important buildings near Harem. However, when Qazalbash managed to find some positive gestures from the JUI leadership of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, sources confirmed, he embarked upon the journey to the holy cities in person, and during his stay, managed to finalise another 138 rental buildings in Makkah, besides helping some appointments of Khudamul Hajjaj (servants of pilgrims) and officials on the recommendations of JUI leaders. Ironically, out of these buildings finalised by Qazalbash himself, only 26 fell within a two kilometre radius, as announced by the federal minister in his purported Hajj policy 2010. The rest of the buildings approved for rentals by the incumbent secretary were within the range of three-to-nine kilometres from the holy mosque, without even considering any transportation facility for those over 100,000 pilgrims who would be staying in these buildings. The average rent for this new set of rentals was considered to be about SAR 3,450 per pilgrim. It was during this stay that Qazalbash was offered by one of many Saudi princes, namely Bandar Bin Sultan, to hire his buildings within a radius of two kilometres at SAR 3,200 per pilgrim – a fraction less than what the secretary was finalising with a nine-kilometre radius. The secretary, however, insisted that the Saudi prince give him the same buildings for SAR 2,500 (remember he himself was in the process of finalising buildings at an average rate of SAR 3,450 from mysterious others). The secretary, officials of the religious ministry claim, asked the prince to give him the buildings for SAR 2,500 because a parliamentary committee comprising of senior parliamentarians – some of whom were tour operators... (www.thedailytimes.com)
concern_paki
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Rs25000 Commission Per Haji Taken In Pakistan !!!
This government has not left a single method or moment to get curses from the poor people of the country and the whole nation..... how can they leave such a great moment when everyone request from HAJIS ...you are going to offer HAJJ,, ,so please do remember me and my family in your prayers ...we will be grateful... thank you...... so yes...this government request you are going to offer HAJJ so for every difficulty you face there because of us so please do remember us in your curses .... They are doing 100 percent of their job ..... Never missed a single chance of corruption, mis management, taking bribes and in return getting curses from all the poor people of country and whole nation ....
This government has not left a single method or moment to get curses from the poor people of the country and the whole nation..... how can they leave such a great moment when everyone request from HAJIS ...you are going to offer HAJJ,, ,so please do remember me and my family in your prayers ...we will be grateful... thank you...... so yes...this government request you are going to offer HAJJ so for every difficulty you face there because of us so please do remember us in your curses .... They are doing 100 percent of their job ..... Never missed a single chance of corruption, mis management, taking bribes and in return getting curses from all the poor people of country and whole nation ....
canadian
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Rs25000 Commission Per Haji Taken In Pakistan !!!
Hajj scam: Envoy in Saudi Arabia pleads ‘not guilty’
File photo of pilgrims performing one of the Hajj rituals. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia has pleaded ‘not guilty’ in response to an inquiry initiated jointly by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the ministry of foreign affairs into a scam worth billions of rupees, The Express Tribune has learnt. The FIA chief had sent a letter to ambassador Umer Khan Alisherzai last month after reports emerged implicating him in the scam.
FIA asked questions regarding the envoy’s role in arranging accommodations, transport and other facilities for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. It is alleged that the ambassador made money via various ‘front men’.
There were reports that his “front men” arranged substitute lodging facilities for Pakistani pilgrims when accommodations arranged by the ministry of religious affairs proved to be of substandard quality. The ministry of foreign affairs had also sent a letter to Alisherzai to inquire about his role in the whole affair.
The ministry initiated correspondence with the ambassador in August this year when the ministry of Hajj lodged a complaint against Sherezai for his alleged interference in making the Hajj arrangements.
It is alleged that a letter purportedly sent by a member of the Saudi royal family to the Supreme Court chief justice against the Hajj minister was mailed on the ambassador’s instigation.
The Hajj minister who described the ambassador as his ‘enemy’ when the issue was taken up by the Supreme Court and also sent letters to the FIA against the ambassador, holding him responsible for many problems that he and his ministry faced during the Hajj season.
Both FIA and the foreign ministry are conducting separate inquiries on the suspected role of the ambassador in the whole exercise.
Federal Minister for Hajj and Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi, federal secretary of his ministry Agha Sarwar Qazalbash and Director-General Hajj Rao Shakeel are the other accused.
In a letter sent to the director-general of FIA by the ambassador on November 27 this year, the ambassador denied having any role in making arrangements for Hajj pilgrims, adding that Pakistan’s consul-general in Jeddah was also not involved in the affair.
He said that the responsibility for the crisis lay squarely on the director-general of Hajj and the ministry of religious affairs, adding that both of them refused to accept his recommendations for Hajj arrangements.
According to another letter sent by the ambassador to the secretary of foreign affairs, the crisis was caused because his recommendations were not accepted.
Going by the correspondence between the foreign secretary and the ministry of Hajj, the tug-of-war began in July-August this year.
“I had recommended holding of an inter-ministerial meeting involving the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of religious affairs to thrash out modalities for hiring of buildings and to develop a criterion for hiring of buildings. I had also volunteered myself to participate in the meeting to provide important input based on my experience in Saudi Arabia, specifically the experience of Hajj 2009. My recommendations were not only ignored but were given a different colour by making it a turf issue between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry Religious Affairs,” said Sherzai in his reply to the Secretary Foreign Affairs, adding: “Had my recommendations (been) taken in (their) true spirit, these problems could have been easily avoided which are now a cause of embarrassment for the government.”
“The onus of responsibility regarding embezzlement and gross mismanagement clearly lies with the Ministry of Religious Affairs and DG (Hajj),” Sherzai claimed in his letter, adding: “Me and my consul-general in Jeddah have nothing to do with the whole issue.”
However, the ministry of foreign affairs is said to be dissatisfied with the ambassador’s reply.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2010.
http://tribune.com.pk/email/87842/hajj-scam-envoy-in-saudi-arabia-pleads-not-guilty/ http://tribune.com.pk/story/87842/hajj-scam-envoy-in-saudi-arabia-pleads-not-guilty/#commentshttp://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250
Hajj scam: Envoy in Saudi Arabia pleads ‘not guilty’
File photo of pilgrims performing one of the Hajj rituals. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia has pleaded ‘not guilty’ in response to an inquiry initiated jointly by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the ministry of foreign affairs into a scam worth billions of rupees, The Express Tribune has learnt. The FIA chief had sent a letter to ambassador Umer Khan Alisherzai last month after reports emerged implicating him in the scam.
FIA asked questions regarding the envoy’s role in arranging accommodations, transport and other facilities for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. It is alleged that the ambassador made money via various ‘front men’.
There were reports that his “front men” arranged substitute lodging facilities for Pakistani pilgrims when accommodations arranged by the ministry of religious affairs proved to be of substandard quality. The ministry of foreign affairs had also sent a letter to Alisherzai to inquire about his role in the whole affair.
The ministry initiated correspondence with the ambassador in August this year when the ministry of Hajj lodged a complaint against Sherezai for his alleged interference in making the Hajj arrangements.
It is alleged that a letter purportedly sent by a member of the Saudi royal family to the Supreme Court chief justice against the Hajj minister was mailed on the ambassador’s instigation.
The Hajj minister who described the ambassador as his ‘enemy’ when the issue was taken up by the Supreme Court and also sent letters to the FIA against the ambassador, holding him responsible for many problems that he and his ministry faced during the Hajj season.
Both FIA and the foreign ministry are conducting separate inquiries on the suspected role of the ambassador in the whole exercise.
Federal Minister for Hajj and Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi, federal secretary of his ministry Agha Sarwar Qazalbash and Director-General Hajj Rao Shakeel are the other accused.
In a letter sent to the director-general of FIA by the ambassador on November 27 this year, the ambassador denied having any role in making arrangements for Hajj pilgrims, adding that Pakistan’s consul-general in Jeddah was also not involved in the affair.
He said that the responsibility for the crisis lay squarely on the director-general of Hajj and the ministry of religious affairs, adding that both of them refused to accept his recommendations for Hajj arrangements.
According to another letter sent by the ambassador to the secretary of foreign affairs, the crisis was caused because his recommendations were not accepted.
Going by the correspondence between the foreign secretary and the ministry of Hajj, the tug-of-war began in July-August this year.
“I had recommended holding of an inter-ministerial meeting involving the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of religious affairs to thrash out modalities for hiring of buildings and to develop a criterion for hiring of buildings. I had also volunteered myself to participate in the meeting to provide important input based on my experience in Saudi Arabia, specifically the experience of Hajj 2009. My recommendations were not only ignored but were given a different colour by making it a turf issue between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry Religious Affairs,” said Sherzai in his reply to the Secretary Foreign Affairs, adding: “Had my recommendations (been) taken in (their) true spirit, these problems could have been easily avoided which are now a cause of embarrassment for the government.”
“The onus of responsibility regarding embezzlement and gross mismanagement clearly lies with the Ministry of Religious Affairs and DG (Hajj),” Sherzai claimed in his letter, adding: “Me and my consul-general in Jeddah have nothing to do with the whole issue.”
However, the ministry of foreign affairs is said to be dissatisfied with the ambassador’s reply.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2010.
http://tribune.com.pk/email/87842/hajj-scam-envoy-in-saudi-arabia-pleads-not-guilty/ http://tribune.com.pk/story/87842/hajj-scam-envoy-in-saudi-arabia-pleads-not-guilty/#commentshttp://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250
usmanjee786
MPA (400+ posts)
Re: Rs25000 Commission Per Haji Taken In Pakistan !!!
Well cone qazmi huda tumhain joot marey
Well cone qazmi huda tumhain joot marey
canadian
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Rs25000 Commission Per Haji Taken In Pakistan !!!
Hajj corruption
Sir: This is apropos the news report ‘Kazmi on the way out?’ (Daily Times, December 10, 2010). It goes without saying that corruption is rampant in our country. The corrupt officials and their large-scale corruption go unchecked and unpunished. Even Hajj has not been spared from the ferocious tentacles of this ever-growing menace. Thanks to some unscrupulous elements, hundreds of Pakistani pilgrims faced untold miseries and immense problems during their stay in Mina. The Minister of Religious Affairs, Mr Hamid Saeed Kazmi, outrightly denies all the allegations of corruption levelled against him, though he does admit to large-scale corruption during Hajj operations. He further says that the ratio of corruption was less this year than that of last year. He must not forget the fact that the minister of religious affairs last year was none other than himself. In one of the many television talk shows, he took an oath on the Holy Quran to prove his innocence. He believes that a conspiracy to snatch his ministry has been initiated. I believe that Mr Kazmi should voluntarily resign, not because he was involved in corruption but due to his inefficiency and inept handling of affairs. Being a conscientious man, as he claims to be, he should set an example to be followed by others. Otherwise, according to news reports, the government has asked him to resign. Enough is enough! All the culprits should be brought to book and given exemplary punishment for their immoral acts, which have tarnished the image of our country internationally.
KHADIM HUSSAIN SUBHPOTO
Via e-mail
(www.dailytimes.com)
Hajj corruption
Sir: This is apropos the news report ‘Kazmi on the way out?’ (Daily Times, December 10, 2010). It goes without saying that corruption is rampant in our country. The corrupt officials and their large-scale corruption go unchecked and unpunished. Even Hajj has not been spared from the ferocious tentacles of this ever-growing menace. Thanks to some unscrupulous elements, hundreds of Pakistani pilgrims faced untold miseries and immense problems during their stay in Mina. The Minister of Religious Affairs, Mr Hamid Saeed Kazmi, outrightly denies all the allegations of corruption levelled against him, though he does admit to large-scale corruption during Hajj operations. He further says that the ratio of corruption was less this year than that of last year. He must not forget the fact that the minister of religious affairs last year was none other than himself. In one of the many television talk shows, he took an oath on the Holy Quran to prove his innocence. He believes that a conspiracy to snatch his ministry has been initiated. I believe that Mr Kazmi should voluntarily resign, not because he was involved in corruption but due to his inefficiency and inept handling of affairs. Being a conscientious man, as he claims to be, he should set an example to be followed by others. Otherwise, according to news reports, the government has asked him to resign. Enough is enough! All the culprits should be brought to book and given exemplary punishment for their immoral acts, which have tarnished the image of our country internationally.
KHADIM HUSSAIN SUBHPOTO
Via e-mail
(www.dailytimes.com)
canadian
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Rs25000 Commission Per Haji Taken In Pakistan !!!
Hajj Odyssey Part 5: Powerful cartels stamp their authority on Hajj—By Saeed Minhas
Whether it was the doing of a troika in the federal ministry – Agha Sarwar Qazalbash, his Joint Secretary Raja Aftabul Islam and former Hajj DG Rao Shakeel – or the incompetence-cum-political weaknesses of Hamid Saeed Kazmi, of Senator Salah Dogar or Senator Saleh Shah-led committee, a consensus seems to have emerged in the FIA circles, civil services, including its more powerful DMG group, the Presidency and PM circles, that this year’s pilgrims were hijacked by cartels from within the ministry and by its minister, resulting in the worst management.
Whether we examine it from an administrative point of view, or corruption or favouritism standpoints, anyone in the civil services is not ready to stand by Rao Shakeel and Qazalbash, nor is any cabinet member trying to give a shoulder to Kazmi. Yet, why is only one person made the scapegoat and why the rest – especially the secretary and his joint secretary, who are solely responsible for monitoring Rao Shakeel, Pakistani Ambassador Sher Zai, translator Behrullah Hazarvi, and scores of commission agents and middlemen in various stages of the entire affair, have not been taken to task by the higher authorities is a question making rounds in Islamabad.
Whether Shakeel got inducted because of a close friend of the premier from Multan (Senator Salahuddin Dogar) into this gory money-making tale or Qazalbash had developed some special love for the JUI-F deal, whether Raja Aftab was there to facilitate Qazalbash, Rao or the JUI-F, whether Sultan Shah – the acting Hajj DG – was busy finalising the commissions and cut-backs before, during and after Hajj or all of these abovementioned “honourables” were doing a justified job remains unanswered.
If Qazalbash is taking refuge behind an unwritten indemnity, thanks to the patronage of JUI-F leaders, Raja Aftab is busy doling out collected funds amongst investigators, Rao Shakeel is recalling help from friends made during his DCOship in Multan or whether Mr Gilani has got any clue about what went between Senator Dogar and Rao Shakeel, all this needs to be investigated into through a public inquisition, and not through some chambers of black robes, dungeons of the FIA or the proverbial internal inquiry.
In one of our previous episodes, we were discussing three phases of a mismanaged Hajj from the Pakistani perspective, revealing the role of the federal minister, secretary for religious affairs and various mafias hauling them around for merrymaking in the name of the most-sacred journey in a Muslim’s life.
Qazalbash denied a princely offer of 3,200 Saudi riyals within a two-kilometre radius of the Holy Mosque just to grab buildings, some of them sub-standard at 3,450 riyals within a radius of nine kilometres. The reason cited by the secretary to refuse the Saudi prince’s offer was that a parliamentary committee headed by Senator Saleh Shah had recommended that buildings should be obtained at 2,500 riyals and not 3,300, as earlier finalised by Shakeel.
The parliamentary committee that comprised bearded senators from almost all parties also included some who had a clear conflict of interest in undermining the whole process of renting the buildings because, like one PML-N senator, there were couple others who also had links with Hajj operators. The committee, as many in parliament and the ministry reveal, seems to have utilised this free tour to examine Hajj arrangements on the pretext of ensuring that some of their recommended people got picked up for ‘Khudamul Hajjaj’ (servants for pilgrims) or others appointed in Hajj missions in Makkah and Madina.
There were over 300 ‘Khudamul Hajjaj’, including some known names in journalistic circles, but mostly from serving and retired army personnel, from government hospitals and amongst the minister’s voters, appointed to help the pilgrims throughout the Hajj. But other than spotting them in government-provided ehrams, it was hard to spot them doing any duty that could be regarded as help. Even if you did spot them, they could hardly help you because either they didn’t know Arabic or they didn’t know the directions because they themselves were there just to collect commissions, allowances or perform Hajj at the ministry’s expenses.
During the last two nights in Mina, all these ‘Khudamul Hajjaj’ had an unabated money-making spree because the federal minister and DG Sultan avoided staying in that camp, fearing another lashing, and preferred to stay in another friendly country’s camp, thus leaving the clueless minister of state, Shagufta Jamani, and Raja Aftab with a host of other VIPs in charge of the camp.
Since there was no one to administer them, all these ‘Khudam’ started selling camp spaces at the Pakistan mission to outsiders and even to Bengali, Somali and other nationalities for 500 riyals per person. This got exposed when a young graduate from DG Khan with his wife and an aged mother, tried to come into camp to talk to the DG because he was living on the roadside for the last two nights, but was stopped, asking for the mandatory 500 riyals. When he threatened to set himself ablaze in front of the Pakistani mission camp, it was his luck that before he could find a matchbox, he found Sultan entering the camp. The young man was eventually allowed inside the camp in a corner of the already-cramped complaint cell.
To get people accommodated, for both the ‘Khudam’ and the missions, means a hefty TA/DA, as the ‘Khudamul Hajjaj; get around 75 to 100 riyals per day for almost 70 days of Hajj, while those appointed in Makkah and Madina know how to get in touch with the middlemen during the renting, and then selling tents to the bewildered pilgrims during their helpless days in Mina, while some others make money by selling ‘Aab-e-Zam Zam’, dates or rides to pilgrims.
The hefty TA/DA accumulated by Raja Aftab runs close to a million rupees, and millions more pocketed by over a dozen others from the ministry performing a temporary Hajj duty are just a few other perks which Qazalbash doled out throughout the Hajj.
Since Aftab was the secretary’s representative in the committee, his exemplary role in finalising the (sub-standard) buildings during the three months with Shakeel or showing utmost disrespect to the minister and minister of state, had so far gone unnoticed for some unknown reasons. First, he and Sultan refused to meet when Hamid Kazmi summoned them in Makkah where enraged pilgrims were protesting against the inadequate arrangements, and finally, the minister had to be rescued by the mission staff when the pilgrims tried to tear his clothes and his skin apart.
Later, when Raja was sitting in his air-conditioned tent in Mina, he refused to come and see Shagufta Jamani when she was listening to a pilgrim’s complaints in front of some journos and journalists-cum-Khudamul Hajjaj.(www.dailytimes.com)
Hajj Odyssey Part 5: Powerful cartels stamp their authority on Hajj—By Saeed Minhas
Whether it was the doing of a troika in the federal ministry – Agha Sarwar Qazalbash, his Joint Secretary Raja Aftabul Islam and former Hajj DG Rao Shakeel – or the incompetence-cum-political weaknesses of Hamid Saeed Kazmi, of Senator Salah Dogar or Senator Saleh Shah-led committee, a consensus seems to have emerged in the FIA circles, civil services, including its more powerful DMG group, the Presidency and PM circles, that this year’s pilgrims were hijacked by cartels from within the ministry and by its minister, resulting in the worst management.
Whether we examine it from an administrative point of view, or corruption or favouritism standpoints, anyone in the civil services is not ready to stand by Rao Shakeel and Qazalbash, nor is any cabinet member trying to give a shoulder to Kazmi. Yet, why is only one person made the scapegoat and why the rest – especially the secretary and his joint secretary, who are solely responsible for monitoring Rao Shakeel, Pakistani Ambassador Sher Zai, translator Behrullah Hazarvi, and scores of commission agents and middlemen in various stages of the entire affair, have not been taken to task by the higher authorities is a question making rounds in Islamabad.
Whether Shakeel got inducted because of a close friend of the premier from Multan (Senator Salahuddin Dogar) into this gory money-making tale or Qazalbash had developed some special love for the JUI-F deal, whether Raja Aftab was there to facilitate Qazalbash, Rao or the JUI-F, whether Sultan Shah – the acting Hajj DG – was busy finalising the commissions and cut-backs before, during and after Hajj or all of these abovementioned “honourables” were doing a justified job remains unanswered.
If Qazalbash is taking refuge behind an unwritten indemnity, thanks to the patronage of JUI-F leaders, Raja Aftab is busy doling out collected funds amongst investigators, Rao Shakeel is recalling help from friends made during his DCOship in Multan or whether Mr Gilani has got any clue about what went between Senator Dogar and Rao Shakeel, all this needs to be investigated into through a public inquisition, and not through some chambers of black robes, dungeons of the FIA or the proverbial internal inquiry.
In one of our previous episodes, we were discussing three phases of a mismanaged Hajj from the Pakistani perspective, revealing the role of the federal minister, secretary for religious affairs and various mafias hauling them around for merrymaking in the name of the most-sacred journey in a Muslim’s life.
Qazalbash denied a princely offer of 3,200 Saudi riyals within a two-kilometre radius of the Holy Mosque just to grab buildings, some of them sub-standard at 3,450 riyals within a radius of nine kilometres. The reason cited by the secretary to refuse the Saudi prince’s offer was that a parliamentary committee headed by Senator Saleh Shah had recommended that buildings should be obtained at 2,500 riyals and not 3,300, as earlier finalised by Shakeel.
The parliamentary committee that comprised bearded senators from almost all parties also included some who had a clear conflict of interest in undermining the whole process of renting the buildings because, like one PML-N senator, there were couple others who also had links with Hajj operators. The committee, as many in parliament and the ministry reveal, seems to have utilised this free tour to examine Hajj arrangements on the pretext of ensuring that some of their recommended people got picked up for ‘Khudamul Hajjaj’ (servants for pilgrims) or others appointed in Hajj missions in Makkah and Madina.
There were over 300 ‘Khudamul Hajjaj’, including some known names in journalistic circles, but mostly from serving and retired army personnel, from government hospitals and amongst the minister’s voters, appointed to help the pilgrims throughout the Hajj. But other than spotting them in government-provided ehrams, it was hard to spot them doing any duty that could be regarded as help. Even if you did spot them, they could hardly help you because either they didn’t know Arabic or they didn’t know the directions because they themselves were there just to collect commissions, allowances or perform Hajj at the ministry’s expenses.
During the last two nights in Mina, all these ‘Khudamul Hajjaj’ had an unabated money-making spree because the federal minister and DG Sultan avoided staying in that camp, fearing another lashing, and preferred to stay in another friendly country’s camp, thus leaving the clueless minister of state, Shagufta Jamani, and Raja Aftab with a host of other VIPs in charge of the camp.
Since there was no one to administer them, all these ‘Khudam’ started selling camp spaces at the Pakistan mission to outsiders and even to Bengali, Somali and other nationalities for 500 riyals per person. This got exposed when a young graduate from DG Khan with his wife and an aged mother, tried to come into camp to talk to the DG because he was living on the roadside for the last two nights, but was stopped, asking for the mandatory 500 riyals. When he threatened to set himself ablaze in front of the Pakistani mission camp, it was his luck that before he could find a matchbox, he found Sultan entering the camp. The young man was eventually allowed inside the camp in a corner of the already-cramped complaint cell.
To get people accommodated, for both the ‘Khudam’ and the missions, means a hefty TA/DA, as the ‘Khudamul Hajjaj; get around 75 to 100 riyals per day for almost 70 days of Hajj, while those appointed in Makkah and Madina know how to get in touch with the middlemen during the renting, and then selling tents to the bewildered pilgrims during their helpless days in Mina, while some others make money by selling ‘Aab-e-Zam Zam’, dates or rides to pilgrims.
The hefty TA/DA accumulated by Raja Aftab runs close to a million rupees, and millions more pocketed by over a dozen others from the ministry performing a temporary Hajj duty are just a few other perks which Qazalbash doled out throughout the Hajj.
Since Aftab was the secretary’s representative in the committee, his exemplary role in finalising the (sub-standard) buildings during the three months with Shakeel or showing utmost disrespect to the minister and minister of state, had so far gone unnoticed for some unknown reasons. First, he and Sultan refused to meet when Hamid Kazmi summoned them in Makkah where enraged pilgrims were protesting against the inadequate arrangements, and finally, the minister had to be rescued by the mission staff when the pilgrims tried to tear his clothes and his skin apart.
Later, when Raja was sitting in his air-conditioned tent in Mina, he refused to come and see Shagufta Jamani when she was listening to a pilgrim’s complaints in front of some journos and journalists-cum-Khudamul Hajjaj.(www.dailytimes.com)
canadian
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Rs25000 Commission Per Haji Taken In Pakistan !!!
Plumbing the depths
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Investigations into the Haj scam have tended to focus on the most senior players who were operating it, but there are others out there who need to be dealt with. The FIA is already investigating Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Kazmi over allegations of corruption, but it is clear that there was a network of corruption with several beneficiaries. The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Religious Affairs on Friday urged the arrest of other “culprits,” without naming names. The one name that emerged – Ahmed Faiz – belongs to a man who is now in hiding but who will doubtless have tales to tell when he eventually reappears; because it seems that individuals are pointing fingers at each other in an effort to deflect blame from themselves.
The habit of corruption, once acquired, is like a drug, and difficult to break. The standing committee was treated to a fine display of corruption in action when Mr Hamid Kazmi proposed the hiring of a private law firm owned by Latif Khosa to defend his ministry in court, at a cost of Rs5.5 million. It will be recalled that Mr Khosa is a former attorney general who resigned under a cloud in October 2009 – a cloud which contained allegations of corruption. He followed this up with his resignation from the post of information technology adviser to the prime minister on July 20 this year after falling out with his boss. Clearly, just the man to turn to if you need to defend yourself against charges of corruption. The standing committee dismissed the claim for Rs5.5 million and told the federal minister to get the attorney general to defend him and his ministry if needs be, rather than lining the pockets of a private individual. The Haj scam is proving to be truly plumbing the depths of corruption. It has gone on for many years and unless the whole process of managing the Haj on our side is brought under strict scrutiny honest pilgrims are going to continue being fleeced by dishonest men and their ministries which were set up to facilitate them. We would thus support the recommendation that the standing committee be involved in finalising next year’s Haj strategy and that the existing parliamentary Hiring Review Committee have its life extended by another year. There must be no repeat of this shameful episode, and a few more people need to hear the jailer’s key turning in the lock.(www.news.com.pk)
Plumbing the depths
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Investigations into the Haj scam have tended to focus on the most senior players who were operating it, but there are others out there who need to be dealt with. The FIA is already investigating Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Kazmi over allegations of corruption, but it is clear that there was a network of corruption with several beneficiaries. The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Religious Affairs on Friday urged the arrest of other “culprits,” without naming names. The one name that emerged – Ahmed Faiz – belongs to a man who is now in hiding but who will doubtless have tales to tell when he eventually reappears; because it seems that individuals are pointing fingers at each other in an effort to deflect blame from themselves.
The habit of corruption, once acquired, is like a drug, and difficult to break. The standing committee was treated to a fine display of corruption in action when Mr Hamid Kazmi proposed the hiring of a private law firm owned by Latif Khosa to defend his ministry in court, at a cost of Rs5.5 million. It will be recalled that Mr Khosa is a former attorney general who resigned under a cloud in October 2009 – a cloud which contained allegations of corruption. He followed this up with his resignation from the post of information technology adviser to the prime minister on July 20 this year after falling out with his boss. Clearly, just the man to turn to if you need to defend yourself against charges of corruption. The standing committee dismissed the claim for Rs5.5 million and told the federal minister to get the attorney general to defend him and his ministry if needs be, rather than lining the pockets of a private individual. The Haj scam is proving to be truly plumbing the depths of corruption. It has gone on for many years and unless the whole process of managing the Haj on our side is brought under strict scrutiny honest pilgrims are going to continue being fleeced by dishonest men and their ministries which were set up to facilitate them. We would thus support the recommendation that the standing committee be involved in finalising next year’s Haj strategy and that the existing parliamentary Hiring Review Committee have its life extended by another year. There must be no repeat of this shameful episode, and a few more people need to hear the jailer’s key turning in the lock.(www.news.com.pk)
canadian
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Rs25000 Commission Per Haji Taken In Pakistan !!!
Hajj fiasco — the last nail?
File photo of pilgrims outside the Grand mosque. PHOTO: AFP
The Hajj scam 2010 has come to a head in Pakistan and its first arrest has come in the shape of the handing over of Joint Secretary of Ministry for Religious Affairs Raja Aftabul Islam to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Other bigwigs from the ministry are sure to follow. Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi has quite understandably come in for a lot of flak on TV channels because he let his ministry allegedly defraud the poor Hajis of the country and kept denying any wrongdoing when he should have stood aside from it at the first whiff of corruption.
Out of the approximate 150,000 pilgrims who go for Hajj from Pakistan, 60 per cent opt for Hajj through the official channel, a task the governments have been performing for the past over half a century. An average of Rs 250,000 is the expense if one takes the official route, and more than double if one opts to do Hajj on one’s own. It is the poor, with little or no savings, who make up the bulk of the pilgrims. Their devotion is touching because under Islam they are not obligated to perform the ritual in conditions of poverty.
The Supreme Court correctly took a suo motu notice of the scandal as it broke in November because its timely media coverage of the issue quickly made it the subject of widespread public outrage given the sensitivity of the matter. Such was the prestige of the PPP government that when a Saudi prince thought he should warn Pakistan of this corruption, he did not inform the Pakistan government but wrote a private letter to the Supreme Court. The indirect message was that he thought the government was implicated.
The central malpractice pertained to the housing provided to the pilgrims. They were charged more than what was due and given accommodation in structures not yet completely built or located too far from the Kaaba, making it impossible for them to walk to the mosque. There were allegations that someone took Rs25,000 per pilgrim from the tour operators who were given contracts. The Saudi prince alleged that the pilgrims were charged 3,500-3,600 Saudi Riyals for a place that should not cost more than 1,500 Riyals “under any circumstance”.
More outrage was caused when the government decided to give the defence of the case, now before the Supreme Court, to “the law firm of Latif Khosa at a fee of Rs5.5 million”, a lawyer not in great virtuous standing with the honourable court. Minister Kazmi, after having admitted to ‘some corruption’, further made a fool of himself when he told a parliamentary inquiry panel that he would not mind handing over the Hajj organisation responsibilities to the private sector, knowing fully well that most pilgrims would not be able to afford it. The post-scam strategy of the government has been equally smelly and damage-control has met with damage-enhancement.
Meanwhile, the government of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has been delivered almost a knock-out punch by what is called the ‘Multan Connection’. Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Secretary Religious Affairs Agha Sarwar Raza Qizilbash, and ex-DG Haj Rao Shakil, are said to be the prime minister’s friends from Multan, with the last-named already under investigation by the FIA for his actions when he was District Coordination Officer Multan.
Once the Supreme Court is done with the case, more unsavoury details will surface. Already the PPP coalition is in the process of falling apart on a number of issues, foremost among them being the RGST enforcement. The opposition, PML-N, has ditched all its ‘democratic’ reservations and is gunning for a vulnerable government made shakier by WikiLeaks. The coalition partners are in open revolt in the case of the MQM that wants the people of Pakistan to launch a long march to topple it, while the JUI-F is in semi-revolt and the ANP is under pressure from the inside to join the rebellion. Could the Hajj of 2010 be the last nail in the coffin of a jinxed government?
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2010.
Hajj fiasco — the last nail?
File photo of pilgrims outside the Grand mosque. PHOTO: AFP
The Hajj scam 2010 has come to a head in Pakistan and its first arrest has come in the shape of the handing over of Joint Secretary of Ministry for Religious Affairs Raja Aftabul Islam to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Other bigwigs from the ministry are sure to follow. Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi has quite understandably come in for a lot of flak on TV channels because he let his ministry allegedly defraud the poor Hajis of the country and kept denying any wrongdoing when he should have stood aside from it at the first whiff of corruption.
Out of the approximate 150,000 pilgrims who go for Hajj from Pakistan, 60 per cent opt for Hajj through the official channel, a task the governments have been performing for the past over half a century. An average of Rs 250,000 is the expense if one takes the official route, and more than double if one opts to do Hajj on one’s own. It is the poor, with little or no savings, who make up the bulk of the pilgrims. Their devotion is touching because under Islam they are not obligated to perform the ritual in conditions of poverty.
The Supreme Court correctly took a suo motu notice of the scandal as it broke in November because its timely media coverage of the issue quickly made it the subject of widespread public outrage given the sensitivity of the matter. Such was the prestige of the PPP government that when a Saudi prince thought he should warn Pakistan of this corruption, he did not inform the Pakistan government but wrote a private letter to the Supreme Court. The indirect message was that he thought the government was implicated.
The central malpractice pertained to the housing provided to the pilgrims. They were charged more than what was due and given accommodation in structures not yet completely built or located too far from the Kaaba, making it impossible for them to walk to the mosque. There were allegations that someone took Rs25,000 per pilgrim from the tour operators who were given contracts. The Saudi prince alleged that the pilgrims were charged 3,500-3,600 Saudi Riyals for a place that should not cost more than 1,500 Riyals “under any circumstance”.
More outrage was caused when the government decided to give the defence of the case, now before the Supreme Court, to “the law firm of Latif Khosa at a fee of Rs5.5 million”, a lawyer not in great virtuous standing with the honourable court. Minister Kazmi, after having admitted to ‘some corruption’, further made a fool of himself when he told a parliamentary inquiry panel that he would not mind handing over the Hajj organisation responsibilities to the private sector, knowing fully well that most pilgrims would not be able to afford it. The post-scam strategy of the government has been equally smelly and damage-control has met with damage-enhancement.
Meanwhile, the government of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has been delivered almost a knock-out punch by what is called the ‘Multan Connection’. Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Secretary Religious Affairs Agha Sarwar Raza Qizilbash, and ex-DG Haj Rao Shakil, are said to be the prime minister’s friends from Multan, with the last-named already under investigation by the FIA for his actions when he was District Coordination Officer Multan.
Once the Supreme Court is done with the case, more unsavoury details will surface. Already the PPP coalition is in the process of falling apart on a number of issues, foremost among them being the RGST enforcement. The opposition, PML-N, has ditched all its ‘democratic’ reservations and is gunning for a vulnerable government made shakier by WikiLeaks. The coalition partners are in open revolt in the case of the MQM that wants the people of Pakistan to launch a long march to topple it, while the JUI-F is in semi-revolt and the ANP is under pressure from the inside to join the rebellion. Could the Hajj of 2010 be the last nail in the coffin of a jinxed government?
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2010.
