KARACHI: Customs Intelligence Officer Hamid Habib will be presented before Customs Court Quetta on Monday (today) in an FIR lodged against him for inefficiency and misconduct. According to the FIR, Habib while posted as custodian of the State Warehouse, Quetta, did not handover the goods lying in the rooms of the warehouse, which were locked and keys of those rooms remained in his custody for five months even after he was transferred from Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Quetta to FIU Intelligence & Investigations-Customs, D.I Khan. Meanwhile, the goods in the warehouse were stolen and illegally released.
Sources said the said FIR was lodged against Hamid Habib on the recommendation of Director General Shaukat Ali after Hamid Habib forwarded an application to Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Hamid Habib in the application mentioned that he had handed over the custody of the state warehouse to another officer and was relieved by a deputy collector as he had been transferred to Peshawar.
Habib mentioned that goods from the state warehouse were stolen and illegally removed after his transfer. In his complaint to Chairman FBR, Habib mentioned concrete evidence against the officials and officers involved in removing goods from the state warehouse. Hamid Habib also mentioned that Director Customs Intelligence & Investigation Quetta was aware of all the affairs and protecting the culprits. Habib noted the Director Quetta was protecting the culprits and blaming him for these wrongdoings.
Sources said the said this application was leaked to Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation Shaukat Ali. Sources claim that mobile phone usage details of Aamir Shabbir and Hamid Habib were checked on the instructions of Director General I&I, which confirmed that Hamid Habib was in contact with another Customs Intelligence official Aamir Shabbir.
Aamir Shabbir submitted a number of complaints along with supporting documentary evidence to Chairman FBR, NAB and Court of law regarding rampant corruption and patronage of organized smuggling by Director General Shaukat Ali and his front man Mushtaq Sarghana.
Aamir Shabbir has caused much damage to Director General Shaukat Ali even his promotion in Grade-22 was stayed due to the corruption allegations leveled by Aamir Shabbir.
Moreover, DG I&I is faced with several inquiries pertaining to his visits abroad and reports of mass level corruption in Directorate General of Customs Intelligence & Investigation. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has reportedly taken-up the matter.
Senior officers of Customs Intelligence who were abnormally transferred such as Directors Nasrullah Wazir, Ashraf Ali, Irfan-ur-Rehman, Tahir Qureshi, Dr. Adnan Akram, Irfan Javed and others including Suleman Yaqoob, Mustafa, Shafiq-ur-Rehman, Inamullah Qazir might also be contacted by the NAB as these officers were holding information as well as evidence pertaining to controlled smuggling and alleged involvement of Director General of Customs intelligence & Investigation.
Certain quarters are pinning the corruption in Customs on PML-N government’s Haroon Akhtar, Ayaz Sadiq, Ishaq Dar and Chaudry Munir saying these men were patronizing and supporting Shaukat Ali adding there were reports that all these persons may be included in the investigations. Chairman FBR is also likely to be questioned for his indifference towards the corruption.