The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against 16 individuals in connection with a Rs 1.24 billion corruption case in the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
According to the FIR, those named include two former executive directors, ex-accounts managers, a reporter, and several other officials who allegedly abused their authority and siphoned off Rs 1.24 billion from the organisation’s funds.
The matter surfaced after Managing Director APP, Mohammad Asim Khichi, ordered an internal inquiry by a departmental Fact Finding Committee (FFC). The report was forwarded to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which, on the instructions of Federal Minister for Information Atta Ullah Tarar, referred it to the FIA for criminal proceedings.
Among the accused are former executive directors Adnan Akram Bajwa and Mohammad Ghawas Khan, reporter Furqan Rao, ex-accounts managers Arshad Majeed Chaudhry and Imran Munir, audit in-charge Tahir Ghumman, finance manager Usman Younus, special assistant Moazzam Javed Khokhar, cashier Azhar Farooq, MD’s secretary Ejaz Maqbool, assistant managers Ghulam Murtaza and Shahid Latif, provident fund in-charge Khurram Shahzad, and audit officers Idrees Ahmed Gujjar and Saqib Kaleem.
FIA officials said several of the accused went into hiding after the case was registered. They noted that all suspects had been given an opportunity to defend themselves but failed to provide convincing explanations. The agency said more arrests were expected as investigations continue, including efforts to trace facilitators within APP, the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) and the National Bank of Pakistan.
The group is alleged to have embezzled the Rs 1.24 billion through APP’s Employees Related Expenditures (ERE) and Provident Fund (PF).
APP officials confirmed that the crackdown was part of the government’s broader anti-corruption initiative directed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Information Minister Atta Ullah Tarar, and Secretary Information Ambreen Jan. Employees and media organisations welcomed the development, demanding strict accountability for all those involved.
