ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister for religious affairs, Hamid Saeed Kazmi, was on Friday sentenced to 16 years in jail in the Haj corruption case.
Judge Malik Nazir Ahmad from special court central, a lower court, also sentenced Director General (DG) Haj Rao Shakeel to 40 years in prison. Joint secretary for religious affairs Aftab Aslam was also sentenced to 16 years.
Kazmi and Aftab were arrested after the sentence was pronounced, while Shakeel is already in custody of the National Accountability Bureau in Lahore.
The sentenced have the right to appeal.
Between 2010 and 2012, the Haj corruption scandal rocked the national political scene and led to the departure of both Hamid Saeed Kazmi and Azam Swati from the federal cabinet.
The former also spent nearly two years in prison over charges of irregularities in the 2009 Haj operation.
The former religious affair minister was slapped with allegations of involvement in the Haj corruption scandal and inflicting huge losses to the national coffers two years ago. After which a case was registered leading to Kazmi’s arrest on March 15, 2011.
Kazmi was subsequently indicted on charges of corruption in the case on May 30, 2012, to which he pleaded not guilty.
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