Detained: Suspected terrorist handed to police for day’s custody

NAB K-P files references against tehsildar, patwari over illegal land transfers.

PESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday handed over a suspected terrorist to the police to be kept in custody for a day.

Dilawar Khan was arrested in a case of smuggling arms and ammunition in the jurisdiction of Mattani police station on Sunday. A day later, he was produced by the police before ATC judge Anwar Ali to request the court to keep him in custody for five days for investigation. The court, however, granted a day’s custody and handed over the suspect to the police.



Investigation officer Inspector Taj Malook told the court the accused was allegedly transporting arms and ammunition from the tribal areas to Punjab in a vehicle, adding the cache could have been used for terrorist activities.

According to the FIR, Dilawar Khan was carrying 27 pistols, five AK-47s, nine other guns and 9,500 rounds of ammunition. He was arrested by the Mattani police under the Anti-Terrorism Act and Explosive Substances Act.

Land fraud

National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chapter filed two references against a tehsildar and a patwari in the accountability court, accusing them of embezzling millions through property transfer and other means.

The NAB reference claims tehsildar Qayyum Nawaz of DI Khan generated funds amounting to Rs15 million through illegal transfer of land. When a NAB inquiry was launched against him, the accused voluntarily paid a sum of Rs9.7 million to NAB.

However, the provincial chapter of the accountability body still filed the reference for the remaining amount of Rs5.3 million that Nawaz failed to pay.

In a second reference filed against patwari Muhammad Iqbal of Swabi, NAB accused Iqbal for involvement in an illegal property business that generated Rs24 million.

Iqbal was also accused of supporting private property dealers who were involved in an embezzlement scandal that generated millions of rupees through illegal transfers of property.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.