KARACHI - Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar on Saturday expressed anger over vanishing of sugar stock worth billions of rupees from sugar mills of Omni Group.

Omni Group is at the centre of the mega money laundering scam in which PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur are among the accused.

Anwar Majeed, the chairman of this group, is already in custody for investigation and yesterday the FIA arrested his son Nimar Majeed from the court premises.

Headed by the CJP, a larger bench of the Supreme Court on Saturday took up the issue of disappearance of huge stock of sugar from Omni Group’s mills.

The court directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to present the record of Omni Group on October 30.

“Where were police and FlA when the sugar stock, pledged against bank loans, was being transported from the mills of Omni Group,” the CJP asked.

“Who is responsible for disappearance of stock,” he further questioned.

FIA Director General Bashir Memon informed the court that nine sugar mills were operating under the Omni Group and nine cases had been registered against the group over disappearance of sugar stock.

He stated that there was a total sugar stock worth Rs14 billion but now sugar worth two billion rupees was left in the mills.

When CJP asked who exactly owns those mills, the DG replied those were owned by the Omni Group owners.

During the hearing, the CJP said he had come to know that arrested people related to Omni Group were using mobile phones in jail and issuing direction from there.

He ordered IG prisons to confiscate all mobile phones and warned of strict action if the court order were violated.

Omni Group’s counsel submitted that statements of the persons related to the business group could be recorded without detaining them. At this the CJP said that the court could not do anything as the matter rested with the FIA.

The chief justice ordered registering cases against those involved in illegal practices and directed FIA to produce all the record of Omni Group in the court on October 30, when the apex court would hear the case in Islamabad.

Also, he said the Omni Group should submit its reply in the court in Islamabad.

As the hearing of the case was adjourned, FIA personnel arrested Nimar Majeed from the court premises when he came out of the courtroom.

The son of Anwar Majeed, the main character in fake accounts case, is wanted in the cases of sugar disappearance from their mills.

Shahrukh sent to death
cell on CJP’s order

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, during a surprise visit to District Jail Malir yesterday, expressed annoyance over the prison authorities for providing better-class facilities to convict Shahrukh Jatoi, who was sentenced to death by a trial court in a murder case.

Without informing the relevant authorities, the CJP paid a visit to District Jail Malir, and inspected the arrangements for the prisoners. During his visit, the CJP found that a convict Shahrukh Jatoi was provided extra-ordinary facilities in the prison.

Justice Saqib Nisar inquired from jail authorities as to why the convict was being provided such facilities. He also ordered the jail officials to transfer the convict to death cell where he was supposed to be.

Jatoi and his associates had shot dead 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan in Defence area of Karachi in 2012.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) had convicted Shahrukh Jatoi and others for the murder. Jatoi was handed down death sentence in the case.

Later, the Sindh High Court released him on bail after declaring the conviction null and void, but Supreme Court suspended the Sindh High Court decision and ordered arrest of the convict.

Also on Saturday, Acting IG Prisons Qazi Nazir appeared in the SC registry on CJP’s orders. The CJP ordered Qazi Nazir to visit to the prison immediately and take action against those responsible.

Complying with the orders, the action IG prisons told the apex court that he had suspended jail superintendent for providing extraordinary facilities to Shahrukh Jatoi.

Among other facilities, Jatoi was also provided a large flat-screen TV, over which the top judge was considerably irked. He immediately ordered that Jatoi be transferred to a death cell. He instructed the IG prisons to submit a report on why he had been given preferential treatment.

“On what basis and law is a murder accused being given so many facilities,” Justice Nisar asked as he ordered an investigation to fix responsible.