Saif pressuring FIA officers to register cases against Jang Group
By our correspondent
KARACHI: Disappointed after failing to take any concrete action against Jang Group of Newspapers, Ehetesab Bureau chief Senator Saif-ur-Rahman has ordered arrest of Jang Group's Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.
Saif took the action, when he was told by FIA officials that during investigations against the Jang Group regarding newsprint quota, no evidence of wrong doing could be obtained and infact embezzlement by some other newspapers came to light. Upset over the state of affairs, Saif is pressurising the FIA officials to get registered as many cases as they can against the Jang Group.
Further, even after taking into custody the owner of Rehan Paper Mart, Muhammad Irfan, along with others, the FIA could not collect proofs of any wrongdoing against the Jang Group. The FIA found out while interrogating Irfan that other newspapers and publications were selling their imported newsprint through him.
Senator Saif-ur- Rahman is personally supervising the investigations against the Jang Group and is in constant touch with the FIA director in Karachi and the Sindh Ehtesab Bureau chief. Meanwhile, acting on the directives of the Ehtesab Bureau chief, the FIA conducted fourth raid on Rehan Paper Mart on Sunday.
On Saturday also, the FIA had conducted a raid on Rehan Paper Mart and took away with them some samples of newsprint and other papers for laboritory test. The agency is preparing to lodge another case against the Jang Group of Newspapers in the light of the laboratory test. The FIA took into illegal custody owner of Rehan Paper Mart, Malik Muhammad Irfan, custom clearing agents Shafaat Butt, Gulzar Ahmed and Muhammad Shafiq. Since then they have been kept in separate rooms at the FIA Commercial Banking Circle and are not being allowed to meet their family members. When the family members insisted upon visiting the above mentioned, the FIA personnel misbehaved with them and bluntly refused to entertain their request.
According to FIA sources, the detenu are being pressurised to give statements against the Jang Group. Furthermore, teams of the FIA, the Ehtesab Bureau and the Intelligence Bureau have summoned the records regarding circulation figures of different newspapers and periodicals from the Audit Bureau of Circulation. However, the joint teams could not get evidence of any misdeed and the detenu are being harassed. In a late night development, all the people except Irfan were released.