MPA Imran Shah slapped with Rs0.5m fine

PTI disciplinary committee also asks lawmaker to offer free treatment to 20 orthopaedic patients

KARACHI: Dr Imran Ali Shah, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Sindh Assembly lawmaker who beat up a citizen on a road in Karachi on August 14, has been slapped with a fined of Rs0.5 million. He is also supposed to provide free medical treatment to 20 orthopaedic patients.

Shah was suspended from the party after a video of the incident went viral on the social media and was barred from attending any of the PTI meetings. However, his suspension has come to an end with the announcement of penalty, said the party’s spokesperson.

The PTI had formed a three-member disciplinary committee to investigate the incident and recommend action against the MPA. The committee was headed by a retired district additional judge, Rana Zaki, and included Dr Pervaiz Ghaffar and Mehmood Maulvi.

The committee on Saturday announced that Shah will donate Rs500,000 as a 'fine' to the Edhi Homes Orphanage Centres and also provide free medical treatment to 20 orthopaedic patients recommended by the Edhi Trust.



The committee has also warned Shah that any further misdemeanour on his part will lead to his expulsion from the party.

"No individual has the right to take [the] law in their hands and there is an added responsibility on the people in power to especially make sure that the law is at all times enforced and never abused," the committee said in its statement.

Had Dr Shah been kept suspended from the party, he would still have remained an MPA and enjoyed all the perks and benefits of a legislator, a source in the party told The Express Tribune. “There was no such proposal on cards to de-seat Dr Shah from the Sindh Assembly,” the source said.

Earlier, the committee sent its recommendations to Islamabad for endorsement. “Islamabad’s verdict on the punishment should be final,” the source said, adding that since Dr Shah is an MPA, the Karachi’s disciplinary committee cannot take action against him on its own.

According to the PTI Karachi President Firdous Shamim Naqvi, the decision was taken before Eidul Azha.

“We thought it would be better to bring it out after Eid,” he said, while addressing a press conference at Insaf House adding that Shah has told the disciplinary committee that he is ashamed of his act. Naqvi said Shah went to home of Dawood Chauhan, whom he hit on the road, and apologised to him.

A video went viral on the media in which Dr Shah could be seen thrashing a middle-age man on a road in Karachi on August 14. The man, later identified as Dawood Chauhan, is a senior deputy director for coordination at the Civil Aviation Authority.



Within a few hours of the incident, the PTI issued Dr Shah a show-cause notice which was also released to media. The party stated that the MPA’s action of beating up a citizen was not acceptable and he had been asked to offer explanation.

After facing severe criticism from public as well as his own party, Dr Shah went to Chauhan’s residence along with Firdous Shamim Naqvi and apologised to him. Later, the PTI announced that it had suspended Dr Shah until the disciplinary committee’s decision.

However, Dawood’s son Labib Chauhan was not satisfied with the apology. He took to social media to express his reservations. Taking notice of the incident, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar also sought a reply from Dr Shah who informed the apex court on Monday that he had acted in self-defence.

“The act of using criminal force is non-cognisable and compoundable offence under Section 352 and the parties have settled the matter amicably. [The] act was unintentional… and without any preparation in any manner whatever,” read Shah’s reply submitted to the SC.