MPA Zaman arrested for PTI leader’s murder

CTD to present accused in court again today

ABBOTABAD:

Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) has sent Member Provincial Assembly Faisal Zaman behind bars after cancellation of his bail in the assassination case of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Malik Tahirul Iqbal at Ghazi in Haripur district on Monday.

The accused was taken into the custody of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and transferred to a police station.

Unidentified people had killed Iqbal and his driver Sardar Gul Nawaz on September 14, 2020 in Kotera village of Ghazi tehsil. Iqbal, 52, was on his way back home in Ghazi tehsil in his car after offering Fateha on the death of a friend in Kothra village at around 9pm when unknown attackers ambushed him.

He received multiple bullet shots in chest and died instantly. A friend of his identified as Abdul Qadeer was also critically injured. However, his gunman escaped the murder attempt. Qadeer too died of injuries during treatment.

Iqbal was a former member of the Haripur district council and the sitting divisional deputy general secretary of the ruling PTI.

The dead and the injured were shifted to the Ghazi Tehsil Headquarters Hospital wherefrom Qadeer was referred to a Rawalpindi hospital in critical condition. The culprits had fled leaving their motorbikes at the scene of the murder, which the police seized and started an investigation.

The CTD officials interrogated various persons through a call data and arrested suspects from Battagram who revealed that Zaman had told them to kill the PTI leader and paid them Rs1.4 million.

The CTD police, along with the help of local police, raided Zaman’s house but failed to arrest him. Meanwhile, he secured bail from the Multan High Court. Later, he was also granted an interim bail by the Abbottabad ATC Special Court. Advocate Atif Ali Jadoon followed the case on behalf of the accused.

After detailed arguments presented by both sides, the court cancelled Zaman’s interim bail as a result of which he was arrested on the spot while the CTD will remand the accused in the anti-terrorism court today (Tuesday).

A large number of people gathered outside the court, chanting slogans against Zaman. A heavy contingent of police was also deployed outside the court on the occasion.

The slain PTI leader Iqbal was considered a close associate of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2021.