Islamabad Police files FIR against Sophia Mirza, Shahzad Akbar, FIA officers

LONDON/ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Police has registered a case against model Sophia Mirza, former aide to the prime minister on accountability Shahzad Akbar, and Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) officials on the request of Umar Farooq Zahoor — Sophia's ex-husband — for conspiracy, forgery and misuse of public office.

At the Secretariat police station in Islamabad, Norwegian-origin Pakistani businessman Umar registered a case (465/22) alleging that Sophia and Akbar conspired to create a fabricated story against him by misusing authority and using undue influence. The Secretariat police station confirmed that a case has been registered.

Umar has engaged lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq to represent him at all forums in relation to this matter. The lawyer said there is overwhelming evidence against the suspects and conviction is possible through efficacious and robust prosecution of this matter.

Umar's counsel stated that Islamabad Police should make every effort to bring Akbar into the fold of inquiry and prosecution of this matter, including arrest through Interpol if he disregards or does not comply with the notices issued by Islamabad Police in due course.

Umar, in the application, stated both Sophia — also known as Khushbakhat Mirza — and Akbar conspired against him and intentionally misled PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan’s cabinet by not disclosing to the federal cabinet that he was the Ambassador-at-Large of Liberia for Middle East, South East Asia, and Pakistan, and that criminal prosecution was not possible for a diplomat in a family dispute.

Umar has been living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the last two decades as the Ambassador-at-Large for the Republic of Liberia since 2019 for the Middle East, South East Asia, and Pakistan region.

Umar also accused FIA's two senior officers of being part of the conspiracy against him. The officials are accused of preparing a false report on Umar linking him with criminal actions and an underworld gang.

“That Shehzad Akbar, Sofia Mirza and Sanaullah Abbasi (EX DG FIA) with criminal intent and consultation with each other got registered FIR No. 36/20 and 40/20 in FIA CCC Lahore and Shehzad Akbar and Sanaullah Abbasi with criminal intent by misusing their position and authority pressurized the investigation officers of the case [...] to prepare a forged and fabricated warrant of arrest of the applicant [to] enable them to get Red warrant from Interpol," the FIR reads.

"They further prepared a fake warrant of arrest and order of the court after consultation with each other with criminal intent and prepared another fake non-bailable warrant of arrest," the application read.

Umar's application to the police station said that the accused “prepared false, fabricated and forged documents in the name of the honourable court and judge and used the same as the original one on the instructions and will of Abbasi to mislead the Supreme Court a fake, false, and fabricated report — dated January 1, 2022 — was prepared.

Umar requested the police station to register a case against the suspects for preparing fake and fabricated documents by "forging the signature and stamp of a judge, using forged documents as an original one, deliberately preparing a fabricated report with criminal intent on the basis of forged documents for Supreme Court, and misusing the authority with criminal intent by breaching the trust of public office which was entrusted to them and above name accused persons be prosecuted for justice and fair play”.

The FIA's Lahore branch registered cases of money laundering and corruption against Umar at the request of his ex-wife Sophia in March 2020 to have him listed on the Interpol database. 

The cases were aimed at helping Sophia, who has been involved in a long custody battle with Zahoor over the couple’s 15-year-old twin daughters Zainab and Zunierah, both of whom have been living with their father in Dubai since their birth.

Recently, the FIA confirmed it had written to Interpol that Umar was no longer a person of interest for the agency and no longer on the Exit Control List (ECL), after which Interpol announced last week that it had removed his name from the Interpol Red Notice  List.