Nisar’s action against ministry official saves Pak-UK accord

ISLAMABAD: Three convicts sentenced to long terms by British courts on drug and murder charges, who were transferred to Pakistan to undergo their remaining imprisonment here, were freed prematurely just after a few months due to the collusion of concerned officials.
The prisoners, sentenced to 18 years, 19 years and 25-year terms, were to serve the major portion of their conviction in Pakistani facilities.The horrendous fraud and fakery that reflected the criminality of different officials and brought shame and embarrassment to Pakistan also led to suspension of an agreement between Pakistan and Britain.
The saga, which raised questions about Pakistan’s capacity and ability to fulfill its international commitments, laid bare the greed for money of some officers even at the cost of Pakistan.
The Transfer of Prisoners Agreement (TPA) between Pakistan and Britain would not have been revived by London had the criminality not come to the notice of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and had he not decisively moved against the offenders to save Pakistan from further humiliation.
It was his single-mindedness and commitment that has landed a policeman and a section officer of his own ministry in jail, and some more will be behind the bars as the investigation progresses fast. He is not relenting on an in-depth probe into the scam to name andand shame all the characters involved.
A credible Interior Ministry source told The News that the minister has also ordered a wide-ranging inquiry as to how sovereign international agreement was continuously violated without his own department even bothering to take notice before his incumbency.
As the story, narrated by the high-placed source, goes, the TPA was signed between Pakistan and Britain on August 24, 2007. According to it, the Pakistani nationals sentenced in the UK and British nationals convicted in Pakistan on criminal charges could serve their terms of imprisonments in their home countries.
The spirit behind the agreement was to enable such prisoners to receive help and support from their families and where they can be properly prepared for release into the community in which they live.
Accordingly, three prisoners were transferred from Britain to Pakistan on August 21, 2010 under TPA with the understanding that they will complete their remaining sentence in Pakistan.Muhammad Nasir Khan was convicted in UK on murder charges for 19 years. He was transferred to Pakistan to serve remainder of his sentence.
But shockingly, the source said, he was released on September 30, 2010, just 41 days after his shifting, from Central Jail Karachi with the collusion of the Section Officer (SO), Law, Interior Ministry, Malik Ali Muhammad, who was the dealing officer for the cases under the TPA.
The source said that the SO prepared fake documents for the prisoner on which the Karachi jail authorities freed him whereas under the TPA no remission could be given by the respective governments. After his release, Nasir Khan fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he said.
Another person Asad Javed was sentenced to 25 years in Britain on drug charges. He was moved to Pakistan to serve the remaining sentence here.The source said this convict too was freed on November 8, 2010, only after 80 days since his arrival in Pakistan, from Central Jail Karachi prior to completion of his term of sentence with the connivance of the same SO, using the same modus operandi of fake remission documents. However, after release, Asad Javed stayed put in Pakistan.
The third man, Rizwan Habib Alvi, was also convicted in Britain on murder charges for 18 years. He was shifted to Pakistan to serve reminder of his sentence under the TPA. He was also set free after 80 days from Central Jail Karachi with the involvement of the same SO with similar counterfeit documents before completion of his sentence. He subsequently fled to Malaysia.
But as on Chaudhry Nisar’s constant monitoring and directions authorities traced out Alvi’s whereabouts, the convict came to know and quickly escaped to Ecuador in the hope that he would be beyond the approach of the Pakistani officials because the country he has opted for is far away.
The whole matter remained under the carpet until the incumbent interior minister took notice on a letter from the British government.It so happened that the British Secretary of State for Justice wrote a letter to Chaudhry Nisar in February 2014 in which he mentioned the specifics of the TPA, pointing out that one prisoner, Asad Javed, is believed by them to have been freed earlier than the completion of his sentence. The secretary requested information from the interior minister about him, and also intimated that due to suspicions, London has suspended any further transfers under the TPA since 2012.
On receiving the letter, Chaudhry Nisar ordered an inquiry into the matter, which revealed that not just Asad Javed, but two other prisoners, Rizwan Habib Alvi and Muhammad Nasir Khan, were also released prematurely with the connivance of the Interior Ministry and other officials.
Resultantly, an FIR NO.24/2014 dated March 28, 2014 under sections 201, 222, 420, 468, 471 and 109 Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) was registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against SO Malik Ali Muhammad Malik and the three freed convicts. An investigation was kick-started.
The source said Malik Ali Muhammad fled but was later arrested by the FIA. He is now in Adyala Jail Rawalpindi on charges of facilitating the three offenders.Similarly, convict Asad Javed, who was on the run, was arrested by the FIA from Karachi on April 1, 2014.
During investigations, the source said, it was divulged that the British government, after getting the news about the premature release of Asad Javed, sent their representative to the Interior Ministry in August 2012 to check about the whereabouts of this prisoner.
According to the source, the same SO managed to take the representative to Lahore and with the help of a sub-inspector, Ibrar of Punjab police, registered a fake FIR on charges of possessing a bottle of liquor against Asad Javed and put him in jail for one day. Later, the SO escorted the British representative to the Lahore jail to show him that the convict is still in custody and got his biometrics done. On Chaudhry Nisar’s orders, the SI was also booked and arrested by the FIA. He is also in jail for the past several months.
The source said that on the interior minister’s continuous and persistent directions, the other two convicts, Rizwan Habib Alvi and Muhammad Nasir Khan, have now been intercepted by the FIA with the help of Interpol in UAE and Ecuador respectively and their extradition process is in progress.
It transpired from the official record to the joy of the concerned authorities that Pakistan has an extradition treaty with Ecuador. British authorities are also keen for the return of the convicts to Pakistani jails to serve their terms of imprisonment.
After this across-the-board action from the Interior Ministry, the British government has revived the TPA.However, it is shocking to note that while the TPA remained suspended for the clear reason of premature release of the three convicts, neither the Interior Ministry nor any other department moved for three years till the issue came to Chaudhry Nisar’s notice in February 2014.
The minister admits that he faced a lot of negativity, lethargy and blockades at all levels in getting the investigation conducted. The Punjab police were also reluctant to act against the sub-inspector, and to move the force into taking action against him he had to talk to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
The source said that as the investigation would proceed, some senior police officers, who were currently holding important postings, were also expected to be named in the scandal for their involvement in it.