Kazmi freed from Adiala Jail

Rawalpindi

Former federal minister for religious affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi was freed from Adiala Jail on Wednesday following his acquittal in the Haj corruption case by Islamabad High Court (IHC) a couple of days ago.

The IHC had acquitted the former federal minister for religious affairs in the Haj corruption case on March 20, along with former director general (DG) of Haj, Rao Shakeel, and former joint secretary religious affairs Aftabul Islam.

The case was heard by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani.

While talking to media outside the jail, Kazmi said, "The court has termed my prison sentence as void."

Kazmi further said that he was a political prisoner and he was grateful to Allah Almighty for being freed.

“The current verdict reinstated my trust,” he claimed adding that he will go to Multan today (Thursday) for his brother’s death anniversary.

When asked by a journalist, if he would consider re-joining politics, the former minister said that the question was too ‘difficult to answer.’

The Haj corruption scandal, which rocked the national political scene between 2010 and 2012, had led to the dismissal of both Kazmi and Azam Swati from the federal cabinet.

Kazmi and others were accused of hiring a substandard building on exorbitant rent to housing Pakistani pilgrims during Haj and receiving kickbacks.

The former also spent nearly two years in prison over charges of irregularities in the 2009 Haj operation.

Kazmi was subsequently indicted on charges of corruption in the case on May 30, 2012, to which he pleaded not guilty.

On 3 June 2016, Special Judge Central Islamabad had announced prison sentences for the three accused in the case. Kazmi and Aftab had been sentenced to 16 years while Shakil had been awarded a 40-year prison sentence.