Shahzad Akbar and others are detained in an Islamabad criminal case
The capital police have detained many people on various allegations, including a former assistant to the prime minister on accountability and the interior as well as an official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
In response to a complaint made by Omer Farooq Zahoor, a resident of Dubai and businessman, the case was opened at the Secretariat police station under sections 420, 468, 471, 385, 396, 389, 500, and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). He also served as a non-resident ambassador for an African nation. Mr. Zahoor is the one who disclosed that he had acquired a rare Toshakhana watch from a previous Pakistani prime minister.
Khushbakht Mirza, Mariam Mirza, Maira Khurram, and Umaid Butt have all been charged in the case, along with the former advisor Shahzad Akbar Mirza and FIA officer Ali Mardan Shah.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s Corporate Crime Circle in Lahore opened an investigation, per the FIR, after receiving a complaint from the applicant’s ex-wife Khushbakht Mirza. Following the investigation, two FIRs dated October 5, 2020, and October 10, 2020, were filed.
The complainant claims that after being falsely accused, he was blackmailed.
The petitioner and colleagues were charged in two FIRs: one for scamming investors in Switzerland and the other for bank fraud in Norway. However, the FIR said that both in Pakistan and the different nations concerned, these charges had previously been looked into and adjudicated.
The FIR stated that “FIA officials registered the false case at the behest of Shahzad Akbar, the then-special adviser to the prime minister on accountability, who allegedly prepared forged documents in his office in the presence and convince of all the accused mentioned above,” adding that the adviser obtained approval from the cabinet while concealing the fact that the cases had already been closed in Switzerland and Norway.
According to the FIR, “Following a thorough investigation, the joint investigation team (JIT) concluded that the allegations in the FIRs were false, frivolous, and based on forged documents,” adding that as a result, the JIT filed cancellation reports for both of the FIRs the court.
The court agreed with both cancellation reports, it stated; however, the accused allegedly resumed their blackmailing and extortion of money from the applicant, working with Umaid Butt and Ali Mardan Shah (officials of the FIA), and managed to have false criminal cases filed against him and members of his family.
According to the FIR, they repeatedly threatened to murder the complainant, extorted money from him, defamed him, and threatened to file more lawsuits against him.
Additionally, it claimed that he was the target of repeated instances of blackmail, threats, harassment, and extortion based on falsified paperwork created by the accused.
“Therefore, it is requested that a criminal case be registered against the aforementioned individuals for the filing of false criminal cases, forging documents, committing fraud, using forged documents, extortion under the guise of filing false cases, and blackmailing.”
A police official informed Dawn that while the case had been filed, the FIR had been sealed pending further instructions. According to the top command’s instructions, an investigation or legal action regarding the FIR would begin as soon as it is made public, he said.
