According to record two cases were registered on May 11, 2004 against Saad Rafique and others for staging a demonstration on the eve of Shahbaz Sharif’s expected visit to Pakistan. PHOTO: FILE
The Punjab government has sought to get the cases, in which Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique is a proclaimed offender, withdrawn and has filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court, challenging an anti-terrorism court’s decision.
Saad Rafique was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in two cases registered with the Lohari Gate Police Station along with more than 100 other people under various sections of Pakistan Penal Code, MPO and terrorism charges.
According to record available with The Express Tribune, two cases were registered on May 11, 2004 against him and others for staging a demonstration on the eve of Shahbaz Sharif’s expected visit to Pakistan. Shabaz was in exile at the time.
In an earlier attempt, the Public Prosecution Department on April 6, 2013 had issued an order, addressed to the Punjab CM’s principal secretary and eight others, stating that the prosecution of these two cases was being withdrawn under Sections 10(3)(e)(iii) and 10(3)(f) of the Punjab Prosecution Service (Continuation, Functions and Powers) Act 2006 in public interest.
However, an ATC on July 4, 2013 dismissed the application of the prosecution department by refusing to grant leave to Rafique in the cases on the grounds that the government had no power to withdraw the case. It said that it was only the public prosecutor who could exercise this power.
The second reason cited by the ATC to dismiss the government’s application was that no reasonable grounds had been mentioned in the letter for withdrawal of the cases.
In light of these reasons, the judge dismissed the government’s application on April 06, 2013 retaining the status of Saad Rafique as a Proclaimed Offender (PO).
In the appeal moved in the LHC, the government has requested the court to set aside the judgment of the ATC, and allow it to withdraw the prosecution of the said cases in ‘public interest’.
The government has taken the stance that the order of the ATC speaks little of culpability of Saad Rafique as the prosecution witnesses named him as abettor of the offence but both witnesses contradict each other on his role.
Except his bold statements, no other incriminating evidence is available to connect him with commission of the offence, the appeal states. The appeal is still pending before a LHC division bench and has not been taken up for hearing as yet.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2014.
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