A chief Engineer lodged an FIR against Balochistan Minister for Communication accusing him of opening fire at his residence in Railway Housing Society and threatening him with dire consequences.
Balochistan Engineers Association (BEA) has demanded of Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani to sack Ali Madad Jatak from the provincial cabinet and launch a probe into the matter on charges of vandalism and violence.
Chief Engineer Ameer Hamza Badini told reporters that Ali Madad Jatak of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) called on him Sunday night and pressured him to award the tender of a construction project to his acquaintance without publishing the notice in newspapers.
He added: “The minister threatened me with dire consequences when I refused to obey his directives and sent armed men with sophisticated weapons in three vehicles who opened fire at my residence”.
“The firing lasted several minutes, damaging my vehicle and the boundary wall of the house,” he said.
Addressing a news conference, Secretary BEA Ghulam Sarwar condemned the incident and demanded that the chief minister take action against the minister.
The BEA has threatened to go on token strike against what they described as the minister’s criminal act. Sarwar warned the government that engineers will take more severe actions if justice was not served.
However, while talking to The Express Tribune, the minister refuted the allegations against him. “I was in Dera Murad Jamali when the residence of the engineer was attacked. I am being wrongly implicated.”
I am a Baloch and storming residences of others is strictly prohibited in Baloch traditions, he further said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2012.
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