Hajj corruption scandal: FIA arrests prime suspect

KARACHI: In a crucial development in 2017 Hajj corruption scandal, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday arrested prime suspect Nasir Abbas Naqvi, ARY News reported.

Nasir Abbas is owner of a private Hajj/ Umra travel agency.

FIA officials said the suspect was wanted by the probe agency since 2017. They said another suspect Ghulam Shabbir was still on the run.

The FIA sources said they had looted millions of rupees from citizens.

In March 2017, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had revoked imprisonment sentences to three top officials including a former minister in Hajj corruption scandal and acquitted them in the case.

The verdict was announced by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani of the IHC. Former federal minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi was sentenced to 16 years in jail in the case, while former DG Hajj Rao Shakeel and joint secretary religious affairs Raja Aftab Aslam were each awarded 40 years and 16 years in prison, respectively by the special court in Islamabad in June 2016.

Kazmi and Aftab were arrested from the court premises after the sentence was pronounced and escorted to Adiala Jail by the FIA officials in June 2016. Shakeel was taken into custody by the National Accountability Bureau officials in Lahore.