FIA team fails to record statement of key accused in fake passport scandal

A two-member team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has failed to record statements of Ali Asad, the central character in the fake passport scam.

The team returned from London with empty hands, saying it was unable to record statement of the key accused in the case.

According to the media reports, the team submitted a report to the Interior Ministry saying it couldn’t able to trace out Ali Asad for seeking his statement over the issue.

“We held several meetings with British officials to seek their assistance in locating Asad and arrest him, but they did not work out either”, it added. The report added that investigation into the scandal may need more time to complete.

Additionally, there has been no progress on the letter written to Interpol by the Interior ministry for Asad’s arrest.

The visa scam reported in a British tabloid The Sun, which published a report on fake travel documents for London, in connection with Pakistan’s Olympic squad.

According to the tabloid’s report, their man was able to get a fake passport issued in his name by bribing officials at NADRA (National Database Registration Authority).

It said its undercover reporter was offered the chance to go to the Olympics posing as an official member of the Pakistani contingent on a two-month visa.

The tabloid said it had busted a racket involving a politician in the eastern city of Lahore that could have given access to the London Games as part of the Pakistani contingent in return for a million rupees ($10,000).

However, an investigation conducted by the NADRA dismissed the claims, calling the report a bogus case.

Following the NADRA inquiry, a cabinet meeting, headed by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, discussed the details and decided to pursue legal action.

Director General (DG) of Immigration and Passport and Chairman NADRA gave a detailed briefing to the cabinet, revealing details of the investigative report.

The cabinet stated that the scandal was a conspiracy of the British tabloid, which had been hatched to malign Pakistan’s image.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=31809

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Aug 30 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.