Tareen wants ‘fair’ team to conduct probe against him

By News Desk

LAHORE: The interim bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen and his son, Ali, was extended on Saturday by two courts in three cases registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Before he entered the court, Tareen told reporters he wanted a “fair” team to investigate his case as he believes the officers investigating him are “controversial”. “[Hold an] inquiry but make a transparent team that is not controversial. The team that is [currently] investigating is not fair,” Tareen said.

The PTI stalwart further demanded that the team investigating him should not be such that they “work on a phone call” and called for a new team to conduct the probe. He claimed the FIR against him was “made in Islamabad and was signed in Lahore after it was sent to the provincial capital in a USB”.

The FIA had registered a total of three first information reports (FIRs) against Jahangir Tareen, his son Ali Tareen, and others under charges of money laundering, misappropriation of shareholders’ money and fraud in the sugar scam.

Two FIRs were registered under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating of public shareholders) and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), read with sections 3/4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The third case alleges

that Tareen misappropriated shareholders’ money after his company, JDW Group, transferred billions to an associated private company—Farooqi Pulp Private Limited. The FIR states the private company is owned by his sons and close relatives.

On Saturday Tareen and his son appeared before Additional District and Sessions Judge Hamid Hussain on the expiry of their interim bail. Their counsel told the court that on April 9, his clients appeared before the FIA after they were summoned. It appears that the FIA will summon them again, he added. He also requested the court to delay the next hearing for an extended period in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

At this, the court asked whether the FIA had any objection on its jurisdiction in the cases. An FIA representative said the agency had no objections. However, he requested the court to direct the accused to cooperate with the investigations. The court directed the FIA to apprise the court of the role attributed to the accused and asked Tareen and his son to join the probe. It also extended their interim bail in two cases till April 22.

Separately, a special court of banking offences also extended interim bail of Tareen and his until April 17 in the third case. The counsel argued that his clients would provide further documents to the FIA at their next appearance. However, an assistant director legal on behalf of the FIA raised objections on the jurisdiction of the court, saying that it was not empowered to hear the matter.

At this, the court sought arguments from the parties on issue of jurisdiction and extended the interim bail of the two until April 17.