ISLAMABAD: A special judicial magistrate in Rawalpindi on Saturday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Rana Sanaullah Khan, the minister for interior as the minister failed to appear in the court in a graft case.
The tiff between federal and Punjab government took a new turn on Saturday as the PTI has planned to launch a long march on federal capital to help bring down the PML-N-led coalition government.
The arrest warrants were issued a day after at least three Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders — Senator Saifullah Khan Nyazee, Hamid Zaman and Tariq Shafi — who were picked up by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from various places in the federal capital and Lahore.
According to a spokesperson for the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) of Punjab, the warrant was issued he failed to appear in a graft-related inquiry, media reported.
A PTI leader Iftikhar Durrani said Senator Nyazee was abducted from the premises of Parliament House where he had arrived for a session of the Senate.
The court order, passed by the court of Senior Civil Judge Ghulam Akbar, reads that Khan was nominated in a first information report (FIR) and his arrest “is necessary in the case, so non-bailable arrest warrants of the accused may be issued”.
“Records reflect that contention of the investigating office is genuine, hence, the same is accepted in the interest of justice and non-bailable arrest warrants of the accused namely Rana Sanaullah is issued accordingly,” the order said.
Meanwhile, PTI tweeted a police party has departed to arrest the minister and will soon reach the Kohsar police station in Islamabad.
“According to the rules, the process of arresting Rana Sanaullah will begin by informing the local police,” it added.
KOHSAR POLICE REFUSE TO ARREST INTERIOR MINISTER
Officers at the Islamabad Koshar Police refused to arrest Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, saying his residence is out of its jurisdiction.
According to details, an anti-corruption team led by Inspector Abdur Rehman reached Kohsar Police station with a non-bailable arrest warrant against the PML-N leader. However, they had to return empty-handed as the Koshar Police refused to arrest the federal minister, citing his residence was out of their jurisdiction.
The anti-corruption team was advised to contact the police station that has Sanaullah’s residence in its jurisdiction. The address mentioned on the arrest warrant is from Faisalabad, Kohsar police said.
Later in the day, Islamabad police said it would take case documents from the anti-corruption establishment team of Punjab, if it arrived at relevant police station.
Reports said a Punjab anti corruption team was in Islamabad in connection with arrest warrants of Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah.
In a tweet, Islamabad police said that if a team arrived at the Kohsar police station, case documents would be taken from it.
“The anti-corruption establishment team will be requested to provide records for compliance so that legal action can be taken,” the tweet said.