ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan yesterday came hard on the Federal Investigation Agency DG, believing the latter presumably raised a question on the incumbent federal government’s three-year efforts by identifying flaws in a revamping plan of FIA leaked to the media.

“By going through the proposed agency’s revamping plan containing so many flaws in the comparative statement, one would assume the government did nothing to improve the performance of the investigation agency during its three-year tenure,” said Nisar during a meeting. He believed that the document was leaked by the FIA head to the media.

As tempers rose high, FIA DG Muhammad Amlish, an officer of Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), offered the minister to leave the post, saying, “Perhaps, I have lost your confidence.”

The exchange of hot words between Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and FIA DG Muhammad Amlish started during a meeting held at the Interior Ministry when the former criticised the latter’s handling of some high-profile cases contrary to expectations of his boss, the interior minister. Nisar who was himself chairing the meeting went on to say that according to a revamp plan of FIA submitted by the DG, it looked that this government had done nothing, the sources privy to the development said.

At a point, the FIA DG lost his temper and told the minister that he could not continue to work with him anymore and left the meeting, the sources added.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said Nisar, during the meeting, had directed FIA to submit short-term, medium-term and long-term plans for re-organization of the agency with a set timeline. The interior secretary, the FIA DG, the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) chairman, the immigration and passports director general and senior officials of ICT administration as well as the interior ministry attended the meeting.

A senior officer of the interior ministry confirmed the minister came down hard on the FIA DG over some issues. At last the DG asked the minister that perhaps he had lost his confidence and offered to step down. However, the minister responded that he (the DG) should not have given any remarks in the meeting.

In the meeting, the minister also approved, in principle, a proposal by Capital Development Authority (CDA) and ICT administration for establishment of new sectors in the federal capital to cater to ever-growing needs of the low-income federal government employees.

The chair directed the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to establish a special cell to check illegal land grabbing and address the grievances of landowners in the city. “Establish a special cell, comprising additional deputy commissioner revenue, SP of Islamabad police and officials of the revenue department, to address the land grabbing issue in the capital,” a spokesman for the Interior Ministry quoted Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan as saying.

The chair also approved a plan of hosting a meeting of executive members committee of Geneva-based International Civil Defence Organization (ICDO) in Islamabad in 2017.

The minister said, “Innocent and poor owners of land in the ICT rural areas are hoodwinked by land mafia at the rates far lower than the original market rates and this practice must be stopped.”

The chair said he would fully support all schemes and housing societies aimed at providing residential facilities to the low-income government employees. “I have no objection to land acquisition in the city subject to the fact that the buyers and sellers of land are mutually agreed and the land is purchased at market rates,” he said.

Meanwhile, with the upcoming month of Ramazan, the interior minister directed the ICT administration to ensure reasonable prices of daily kitchen items for consumers and speed up anti-adulteration campaign in the city.

The passports director general and the Nadra chairman briefed the minister on the progress of suspension of CNICs and passports of proclaimed offenders and absconders. “Nadra is in process of making a centralised data bank of proclaimed offenders and abscondera,” said the Nadra chairman, adding he had so far received a list of 7,678 proclaimed offenders and absconders from FIA, ICT police and Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF).

The minister appreciated the Civil Defence director general over his efforts for extension of Pakistan’s membership of the executive body of ICDO for the term of another four years.

The Civil Defence director general of said hosting executive body meeting would contribute to the soft image of Pakistan and help highlight its positive role in achieving overall goals and objectives of ICDO.