The government has removed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officer heading the investigation against Jahangir Tareen and his son Ali Tareen on Monday.
This step apparently has been taken just a day before PTI rebel law makers meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, local media reported.
Muhammad Rizwan, FIA Director Lahore has been removed from his position as it was the main demand of the Jahangir Tareen and lawmakers who are backing him.
It is still not confirmed whether Muhammad Rizwan’s services have been transferred from FIA or not. It is pertinent to mention that Rizwan also booked Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz in Rs5billion money laundering scam.
Furthermore, he also investigated the sugar mills of Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Minister for Industries & Production and his family members. The FIA team under his leadership also found Rs110billion earning by sugar mafia in the last year or so.
The FIA during the course of inquiry against the sugar mafia said: “It has transpired that sugar industry barons, sugar-brokers & their satta-agents (speculative pricing players), inactive connivance with sugar-mills, have transformed into a clandestine sugar satta-mafia and are operating in a collusive but secret-mode, especially through electronic means/ WhatsApp groups to dishonestly and fraudulently maneuver, manipulate and artificially hike sugar prices, amidst hoax of impending sugar-stocks shortages (while sugar-stocks are lying ‘unsold’ or ‘sold/un-lifted’ in mills & godowns and demand-supply gap is artificial)”.
The inquiry reveals “the satta-mafia had already fraudulently ramped-up the (speculative) ex-mill price by Rs20/kg in last one year (from Rs70/kg on Feb 11, 2020 to Rs90 per kg on March 21, 2021; they are now conspiring to pump it upwards to Rs110 per kg in Ramzan.”
Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet the members of the group “loyal” to Jahangir Tareen today. It is learnt that Tareen will not be in the group of around 30 parliamentarians who will call on the premier.
Insiders say there seems to be a rift brewing in the party as senior leadership has expressed strong reservations on the premier’s meeting. They said the group of parliamentarians close to the estranged leader, will plead his case before the prime minister.
Last week, they had refused to hold a meeting with a committee constituted to hold talks, insisting that they wanted the prime minister himself to listen to their grievances.
It is also learnt that there will be a “consultative” meeting before Tareen loyalists meeting.
Jahangir and his son Ali Tareen have been booked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for their alleged involvement in the sugar scam. They denied allegations. They are on bail till May 3.
