Nisar proposes judicial commission if Zardari wants

FIA performance

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, responding to the statement of Asif Ali Zardari that the FIA was also working like the NAB, said if desired by Mr Zardari, he was ready for a high-level judicial commission to analyse the performance of FIA during the last two-and-a-half years.

“With all the responsibility I say that during my tenure I have neither used the FIA for personal, political or illegal matters nor I have allowed any outside pressures or influence to affect the organisation,” Nisar said.

The minister claimed he had always called upon all the departments falling in the domain of his ministry, including the FIA, to fear only Allah and always wished to uphold the principle of justice and the rule of law.

He said he always emphasised that the government officials were the servants of the state and not the government. The interior minister said that he did not want to go into details as to how the FIA was used during the previous governments. But, on his part, he had made sincere efforts to transform the FIA into an apolitical and purely professional organisation. He claimed the FIA had been able to recover Rs11.46 billion during the last two years whereas in the past these recoveries were merely in a few millions.

“Still I feel that much needs to be done and the FIA needs to be purged of certain elements,” the interior minister said and added that he wanted to assure one thing to all, including Asif Zardari, till the time he was the interior minister, the FIA would not be used against any innocent person or any political opponent. But with an equal resolve he reaffirmed that the FIA would show no leniency towards the corrupt and wrong-doers and they were ready for judicial scrutiny of all the FIA cases.