Tareen laments delay in release of Zafar report on profiteering claims

LAHORE: A district and sessions court in Lahore on Monday extended the interim bail of estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Jehangir Tareen and his son Ali Tareen until June 11 in a money laundering and corporate fraud case.

The court also issued a show-cause notice to the Federal Investigation Agency for transferring its investigating officer in the case.

During the proceedings, Additional District And Sessions Judge Hamid Hussain said he would no longer hear the case as a new judge has been appointed in his place.

Announcing that he could not hear the arguments, he said he could only give a next date for the hearing.

But he also asked about the developments in this case since it began in March. At this, an FIA official, Rana Shahbaz, said the agency had replaced the IO probing into the cases against Tareen and his family.

He informed the court that replacements and transfers were made in the entire FIA cadre.

The judge showed his dismay over the transfer of the officer. He wondered how the agency could have replaced the IO without prior permission from the court.

The judge issued a show-cause notice to the FIA official who transferred the investigating officer.

While talking to reporters after attending the hearing, Tareen said that Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed Senator Syed Ali Zafar to probe allegations levelled against him.

He said Zafar after showing a great promise in the case had completed his investigation. He hoped that the report would be made public but lamented the delay, saying its contents still had not seen the daylight.

He said rumours were doing the rounds that Zafar apprised the prime minister of the report’s details verbally, adding that it was also being speculated that the report was in his favour.

He lamented that he had been asking for justice in the cases. He asserted that justice delayed is justice denied.

During the conversation, Tareen also denied his meeting with any high-ranking government official in Islamabad.

He said the registration of a case against MPA Nazir Chohan of his group has further deteriorated the situation.