Former Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi claims himself innocent

Former Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi claims himself innocent

Former Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi, annoyed by the government’s attitude towards him, stated that the he was innocent and did not commit any corruption in the Hajj operation.

“All three allegations behind the suo moto notice taken by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry were proven false in January this year. I do not know where to go for justice,” Kazmi said while speaking to the media.

The former minister, who was sacked by Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani in December last year after allegations of irregularities in Hajj arrangements, said that the premier did not handle the situation in a right way.

“Prime Minister sacked me without knowing the realities of allegation levelled against me by Azam Swati and then Pakistani Ambassador in Saudi Arabia Umer Ali Khan Sherzai,” he stated.

He alleged that the PM did not even bother to inquire after him from the day he was sacked. “I was member of his cabinet and the party but I think Gilani has forgotten me,” Kazmi held.   

He further informed that President Asif Ali Zardari had sent him messages of good wishes and inquired after his health, which gave him a lot of courage.  

He said that both Azam Swati and Pakistani ambassador to Saudi Arabia were the government officials and the prime minister should have sought explanation from them but he sacked him instead. 

Kazmi also expressed his unhappiness with the Supreme Court and requested it to reconsider the report presented by the FIA. He continued that his brother sent 22,000 pounds, which were found in his account and that he had documents to prove it.

When asked about the reason behind cancellation of bail by the Central Special Judge in his case, Kazmi said, “If he has denied me bail on the basis of allegations which have been proved false, then he must have been under some pressure.”

He said that Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court also rejected his bail without any solid justification. “I don’t know why judges want to keep me in jail,” he added.

Hamid Saeed Kazmi said that a lobby wanted to take-over the Religious Ministry. Criticising Azam Swati for levelling allegations against him, Kazmi said that the former minister had admitted that he wanted the ministry.

Kazmi said that he was a e victim of media trial. “The trial that I face by the media was not faced by anyone. “ The accused is always considered innocent until allegations are not proved but it did not happen in my case,” he said.

He was hopeful that he would be declared innocent by the court and this would be revealed on every one soon. He said that the government of Saudi Arabia compensated to the Hajj pilgrims on his claims.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Dec 16 2011. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry