Intervention: Police seize illegal weapons from MPA’s house

Another raid on his ‘rival’s’ home results in confiscation of more arms.

HARIPUR:

Police claim to have recovered unlicensed and unregistered weapons during a raid on the houses of an MPA and his purported rival.

Based on an intelligence report, police raided the residence of Qaumi Watan Party MPA Gohar Nawaz Khan and his nephew Babar Nawaz Khan and recovered the arms. However, neither of the two were arrested. Another raid on the house of former PML-N candidate for PK-51, Haripur-III Advocate Zulfiqar Khan, also resulted in the recovery of illegal arms. He was sent to jail on judicial remand by a magistrate.

Khalabat Township police said the raid on the residence of Gohar, elected as MPA to the PK-51 seat, was led by DSP Ayaz Khan and DSP Cadet Ejaz Khan before dawn on Friday. It resulted in the recovery of a .222 rifle, while an unlicensed 9mm pistol was seized from the possession of his nephew Babar Nawaz Khan, a by-poll election candidate for PK-50, Haripur-II.

Babar is the son of the late former provincial minister Akhtar Nawaz Khan. Police said both weapons were licensed and not registered with the police. The police registered a criminal case against the MPA and his nephew under Section 21 AA of PPC, but have yet to arrest them.

Police said that Babar Nawaz and his cousin Samiullah Khan, son of Mehrnishad Khan, were booked under Section 107 of the PPC and secured pre-arrest bail from the court of a judicial magistrate through surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.

A police source said the MPA could not be arrested under the law as permission was required from the speaker of the provincial assembly. Whether the police have sought the required permission in writing or not remains unknown.

Meanwhile, another police contingent raided the house of Advocate Zulfiqar Khan and recovered two AK-47 rifles, a .222 rifle, a 12 bore shotgun, a repeater and a 30 bore pistol. According to Khalabat Township police, all weapons except the AK 47s were unlicensed and the Kalashnikovs were not registered with the police.

The police arrested Zulfiqar under sections 15 AA and 21 AA and produced him before the court of judicial magistrate Zahidullah Jan who sent him on a judicial remand to Haripur jail. Zulfiqar is the younger brother of slain tehsil nazim Iftikhar Ahmed Khan. His family reportedly has a feud with MPA Gohar Nawaz Khan and their enmity is believed to have claimed the lives of over seven people, including former transport minister Akhtar Nawaz Khan, former tehsil nazim Iftikhar Ahmed Khan and Sher Azam.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2015.