FIA probes into Asghar Khan, Khanani and Kalia cases paralysed

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency's investigations into two high profile cases, of the late Air Marshal Asghar Khan and money laundering case against Khanani and Kalia, have been grounded to a halt since 2019, as both are pending before the apex court, according to an official confirmation by The Geo News received under the Right to Information (RTI) laws on Thursday.

The FIA's present policy has apparently led investigators to pause their efforts to undertake probe into these two high profile cases any further, a move which could compromise investigators' position in the coming months, officials said. "The FIA had filed the report as desired by the Supreme Court but ever since the case remains pending adjudication before the SC. When Geo News tried to find out that information from FIA through the PIC [Pakistan Information Commission] Deputy Director Law FIA Waqas Rasool said in his written response, said "the information may be obtained directly from the Director General Human Right Commission Cell of SC and the learned Registrar of the SC, which the FIA cannot pass on to any other agency except with permission of the competent authorities in the SC."

The Asghar Khan case concerns dishing out Rs140 million among the politicians allegedly by an official of the intelligence agency during the 1990 elections, while the Khanani and Kalia affair is about money laundering of over Rs2 billion from Pakistan to a Middle Eastern country via the money exchange and deposited in branches of a foreign bank. The SC, during its 2019 hearing of the Asghar Khan case, had asked the federal government to furnish a report asking whether the case referred to the Field General Court Martial against the former army officers was sent under the Army Act.

"In Asghar Khan's case, a leave to appeal was filed in SC against revision No.95/2011 on April 3, 2019 and leave to appeal no 251/2019 was filed against revision appeal [in Khanani & Kalia case] in the SC in October 2019. Besides, no further development or request was made to any authority or a country by this office," the FIA told the Geo News, while responding to an appeal filed through the Information Commission of Pakistan by this correspondent. Both cases are pending before the SC.

The agency further said that the application of Air Marshal (retd) Muhammad Asghar Khan addressed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan was registered in HRC cell of SC in 1996. This case was then taken up by the SC in the previous regime and its last official hearing took place in 2019.

According to FIA, the first FIR was lodged against M/s Khanani and Kalia International Karachi in 2008. On Dec 12, 2008, a separate charge sheet was submitted in special court and on Feb 24, 2009, final charge sheets were submitted in PECO and FER tribunals (district and session judge South). On March 03, 2011, Presiding Officer of Special Court (offences in banks) Sindh acquitted all the accused in case FIR No 76/2008 of FIA, Crime Circle, Karachi.