ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court Thursday ordered to halt inquiry against Moonis Elahi and his wife after it was told that money in their foreign bank accounts has no connection with the laundering issue.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Jawwad S Khwaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain was hearing the case of alleged corruption in the National Insurance Company Limited.
FIA Director Legal Muhammad Azam Khan submitting a report on money laundering informed the court that amounts in Moonis and his wife’s accounts was had no nexus with the laundering matter. On that, the court said a short order: “No further action is called for at this stage.”
Azam informed the court that Federal Minister for Commerce Ameen Faheem has filed a case in the Sindh High Court. He further told that Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood has also been transferred. On the last hearing, the commerce secretary and FIA were ordered to proceed against Makhdoom Ameen Fahim regarding appointment of Ayaz Khan Niazi as NICL chairman and transaction of Rs40.5 million in his account.
The chief justice inquired from the FIA officer why the agency was slow to recover the money, warning that if they failed, the case would be forwarded to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Azam told the bench that the only recovery still to be made was that of Rs420 million, from Lahore. He said a five-year agreement had been made with the Warraich family over the recovery of some Rs420 million. He said an FIR had been registered against members of that family after their cheques bounced.The court was informed that Mohsin Warriach was in UK and has applied for political asylum. The court observed that Mohsin Warriach is an absconder, adding how long he would remain in a foreign country. The chief justice said that Mohsin should respect Pakistani laws and surrender himself before the authorities. The CJP remarked if his Pakistani passport is cancelled, the British government would deport him immediately. Azam informed that Pakistan does not have extradition treaty with the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, in the contempt matter against former FIA DG, the court summoned former Cabinet Secretary Khushnood Lashari, Secretary Interior Qamaruz Zaman and former FIA DG Malik Iqbal. The court said that they had ordered for taking action against the responsible but so far there has been no progress.
About the payment to Justice (r) Ghulam Rabbani for conducting the inquiry on Rehman Malik’s threat to Zafar Qureshi and campaign run on TV channels regarding Moonis Elahi, the interior ministry officials informed that through Attorney General of Pakistan they have referred the matter to law and justice ministry. They said the amount was yet to be paid. The finance and the interior ministries would jointly pay this amount, they added. About Inam Ghani, the court was informed that he has gone to London on leave. The case was adjourned for three weeks.