C
commander
Guest
Minister suspected of human smuggling
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=24801
Friday, October 02, 2009
Denies allegations; FIA director-general confirms investigations
By Umar Cheema
ISLAMABAD: The case of doctored Nadra records of Federal Minister for Population and Welfare Firdous Ashiq Awan took a new twist with allegations emerging of two teenagers being trafficked to Italy, impersonating as ministers sons. The minister has also been accused of receiving Rs500,000 as bribe, according to a confessional statement of her private secretary and an alleged trafficker. The FIA has also taken a written statement of the minister on the issue, it was learnt.
A weeklong investigation into the case has revealed many details, which have been confirmed by the FIA director-general, who has sought Interpols help to locate these two boys in Italy. We will lay our hand on the minister once we succeed in bringing back these children and one of their carriers living with them, FIA Director-General Tariq Khosa said, adding nobody can interfere in our investigation.
The minister has denied allegations and said a conspiracy has been hatched against her. As the issue surfaced in the Senate standing committee on interior on Thursday with regard to the wrong entries into the ministers identity card record, this was only the tip of the iceberg, it seems.
The News investigation revealed the ministers passport was misused in 2007 when she was parliamentary secretary of the cabinet division. Nadras offices in the parliament house and another in Rawalpindis Commercial Market have been used for registering the entries of three boys, two of them teenagers, and a girl. Ibrar Ashiq and Usman Ashiq have been registered as teenagers at Nadras office in the parliament house, record indicates. Nadra office manager at that time told the FIA in his recorded statement that Dr Firdous Ashiq herself came to register these entries, an assertion denied by the minister. The said manager was released on post-arrest bail by the Islamabad High Court but he is still under suspension.
Faisal Aziz and Shazia Bibi, two other fake children of Dr Firdous Ashiq, applied for ID cards (as they were over 18) at the Commercial Market office in Rawalpindi. One Mansoor Ahmad had their documents secured from the foreign office assistant director, Yasir Ahmad, (currently on posting abroad) as the ministers son, and these were later dispatched with the applications for Italian visa. Ibrar and Usman were consequently trafficked to Italy on August 9, 2007 along with two carriers, Tahir Pervez and Sajjad. Tahir returned and was later arrested by the FIA. During questioning, he disclosed that he had sent a cheque in the name of the minister which was encashed by the ministers private secretary, Muhammad Ilyas. Ilyas made the confession before the FIA investigators on August 6, 2009, Khosa told The News, that he handed over the money to the minister.
As he was asked to record the same confessional statement before the court, Khosa said, Ilyas manipulated in collaboration with the ex-ambassador, Malik Yousuf whom the FIA director-general declared as a close friend of the minister, and backed out from his statement and was released on bail. Khosa claimed to have undeniable proof that the cheque was payable to the minister. Ilyas is not under arrest as he has secured a bail whereas the minister has presented her statement to the FIA director-general in the presence of (former) interior secretary Kamal Shah, sometimes back.
Khosa told The News he was quite sure that he would face no pressure if he proceeded against the minister and that there were clear directives of the Supreme Court regarding non-interference. I am, therefore, accountable to the court, not to others, he said.
As regards the cheque issue, he said the matter was pending with the Islamabad High Court which was dissolved following the Supreme Court judgment but he said: We will determine her role as her name has been used. He said the FIA would go after the minister once the children sent to Italy are brought back.
The minister, when contacted for her side of the story, denied the alleged practices attributed to her. She said she would not have personally gone to Nadra chairman to draw his attention to the wrong entries in her record had she done something wrong. She also denied the FIA director-generals statement that Ilyas has confessed earlier but backed out later. But a judgement of the Islamabad High Court (before its dissolution) in post-arrest bail of Nadra employees implicated in the case observed on June 22, 2009: Deputy Attorney-General had failed to satisfy this court about the encashment of cheque of Rs500,000 by the private secretary of Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan. The police file is absolutely silent about this aspect of the matter and no attempt appears to have been made by the investigating officer to explain this puzzle... This circumstance alone prima facie casts some doubt on the veracity of the prosecution story. While the minister insisted that Ilyas did not confess, Khosa said they had investigated the matter after the court verdict in which he had made the confessional statement.
Dr Firdous Ashiq said she had sacked Ilyas before this investigation started. She also wondered how a teenager got a passport in the absence of parents. The minister said this whole mess is a glaring example of institutional failure of Nadra, the FIA and other departments.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=24801
Friday, October 02, 2009
Denies allegations; FIA director-general confirms investigations
By Umar Cheema
ISLAMABAD: The case of doctored Nadra records of Federal Minister for Population and Welfare Firdous Ashiq Awan took a new twist with allegations emerging of two teenagers being trafficked to Italy, impersonating as ministers sons. The minister has also been accused of receiving Rs500,000 as bribe, according to a confessional statement of her private secretary and an alleged trafficker. The FIA has also taken a written statement of the minister on the issue, it was learnt.
A weeklong investigation into the case has revealed many details, which have been confirmed by the FIA director-general, who has sought Interpols help to locate these two boys in Italy. We will lay our hand on the minister once we succeed in bringing back these children and one of their carriers living with them, FIA Director-General Tariq Khosa said, adding nobody can interfere in our investigation.
The minister has denied allegations and said a conspiracy has been hatched against her. As the issue surfaced in the Senate standing committee on interior on Thursday with regard to the wrong entries into the ministers identity card record, this was only the tip of the iceberg, it seems.
The News investigation revealed the ministers passport was misused in 2007 when she was parliamentary secretary of the cabinet division. Nadras offices in the parliament house and another in Rawalpindis Commercial Market have been used for registering the entries of three boys, two of them teenagers, and a girl. Ibrar Ashiq and Usman Ashiq have been registered as teenagers at Nadras office in the parliament house, record indicates. Nadra office manager at that time told the FIA in his recorded statement that Dr Firdous Ashiq herself came to register these entries, an assertion denied by the minister. The said manager was released on post-arrest bail by the Islamabad High Court but he is still under suspension.
Faisal Aziz and Shazia Bibi, two other fake children of Dr Firdous Ashiq, applied for ID cards (as they were over 18) at the Commercial Market office in Rawalpindi. One Mansoor Ahmad had their documents secured from the foreign office assistant director, Yasir Ahmad, (currently on posting abroad) as the ministers son, and these were later dispatched with the applications for Italian visa. Ibrar and Usman were consequently trafficked to Italy on August 9, 2007 along with two carriers, Tahir Pervez and Sajjad. Tahir returned and was later arrested by the FIA. During questioning, he disclosed that he had sent a cheque in the name of the minister which was encashed by the ministers private secretary, Muhammad Ilyas. Ilyas made the confession before the FIA investigators on August 6, 2009, Khosa told The News, that he handed over the money to the minister.
As he was asked to record the same confessional statement before the court, Khosa said, Ilyas manipulated in collaboration with the ex-ambassador, Malik Yousuf whom the FIA director-general declared as a close friend of the minister, and backed out from his statement and was released on bail. Khosa claimed to have undeniable proof that the cheque was payable to the minister. Ilyas is not under arrest as he has secured a bail whereas the minister has presented her statement to the FIA director-general in the presence of (former) interior secretary Kamal Shah, sometimes back.
Khosa told The News he was quite sure that he would face no pressure if he proceeded against the minister and that there were clear directives of the Supreme Court regarding non-interference. I am, therefore, accountable to the court, not to others, he said.
As regards the cheque issue, he said the matter was pending with the Islamabad High Court which was dissolved following the Supreme Court judgment but he said: We will determine her role as her name has been used. He said the FIA would go after the minister once the children sent to Italy are brought back.
The minister, when contacted for her side of the story, denied the alleged practices attributed to her. She said she would not have personally gone to Nadra chairman to draw his attention to the wrong entries in her record had she done something wrong. She also denied the FIA director-generals statement that Ilyas has confessed earlier but backed out later. But a judgement of the Islamabad High Court (before its dissolution) in post-arrest bail of Nadra employees implicated in the case observed on June 22, 2009: Deputy Attorney-General had failed to satisfy this court about the encashment of cheque of Rs500,000 by the private secretary of Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan. The police file is absolutely silent about this aspect of the matter and no attempt appears to have been made by the investigating officer to explain this puzzle... This circumstance alone prima facie casts some doubt on the veracity of the prosecution story. While the minister insisted that Ilyas did not confess, Khosa said they had investigated the matter after the court verdict in which he had made the confessional statement.
Dr Firdous Ashiq said she had sacked Ilyas before this investigation started. She also wondered how a teenager got a passport in the absence of parents. The minister said this whole mess is a glaring example of institutional failure of Nadra, the FIA and other departments.
