Imran Khan questions govt's decision not to suspend SECP chief

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan questioned on Thursday the federal government’s decision not to remove Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) chairman Zafar Hijazi in the wake of a case registered against him for tempering with financial records of the Sharif family’s companies.

“How can a man being investigated for obstructing  justice and with FIR registered against him remain the chairman of SECP? Incredulous,” observed the PTI chairman in a tweet on the social networking site.

Hijazi was booked in a case following the Supreme Court’s order in the Panama Papers implementation case for allegedly tampering with financial record of the Sharif’s companies.mission.

A four-member FIA team, constituted by the apex court to look into the JIT’s allegations, had proved the record tampering.

It found chairman Hijazi guilty of record tampering and recommended criminal action against him and two of his subordinates – Ali Azeem and Maheen Fatima – under Section  466, 472, PPC read with 5(2) Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) 1947.

SECP Director Maheen Fatima had accused the SECP chairman of exerting intense pressure on her to blame the Panamagate JIT of misbehaving with her during an interrogation session.

In her statement to the probing team, she asserted that the money laundering investigation against Chaudhry Sugar Mills was closed on the chairman’s directives.

The director has further accused the chairman of threatening her with dire consequences including transfer to Gilgit-Baltistan on defiance of his orders.

The Panamagate JIT had previously complained to the top court that SECP had allegedly tampered with the record, apparently to favour the Sharif family who owns Chaudhry Sugar Mills.