In trouble: Court rejects pre-arrest bails for 14 ex-LG representatives
Accepts applications of six former councillors, 10 lecturers, a doctor in CNIC verification case.
Accepts applications of six former councillors, 10 lecturers, a doctor in CNIC verification case. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
The district and sessions court rejected bail-before-arrest applications of 14 more former local government representatives for approving CNIC papers of Afghan nationals.
However, pleas of six former female councillors, 10 college lecturers and one doctor were accepted on various grounds when proceedings resumed in the said case on Monday. Defendants told district and sessions judge Shahid Khan they were unaware of any verifications made from their offices, and the cardholders used bogus stamps of which they have no knowledge.
Calling into question
The accused also shed light on inadequate investigation in the case, saying documentary evidence of CNIC papers attested by them has not been presented in the case file. They added the ultimate responsibility lies with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to countercheck the stamps and signatures before accepting documents for processing.
Upon hearing the arguments, the court accepted the pre-arrest bail applications of Shabnam of Michni, Shaheen Asghar and Rahima Bibi of Paharipura, Asmat Jabeen of Faqirabad, Shakeera Bukhari of Hayatabad and Zarina of Nasir Bagh. Bail pleas of 10 college lecturers and a doctor – Ajab Khan, Atiqur Rehman, Ayub Khan, Khurshid Alam, Mohammad Alamgir, Muhammad Ilyas, Muhammad Nawaz, Nasarullah, Dr Nisar Anwar, Zafarullah and Mohammad Saeed Butt – were also accepted.
Meanwhile, applications of former LG representatives Murad, Imtiaz, Tariq, Liaquat Ali, Mustaqim, Abdul Wahab, Abdul Nabi, Mudasir Zaman, Noor Khan, Noor Ahmad, Rahim Wali, Mujahid, Jamil and Muhammad Shah were rejected by the court. They were handed over to various police investigation teams for further interrogation.
Rounding up
“The interior ministry issued a list to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police with the names of all those nazims, councillors, teachers and other officials who verified the CNIC forms for Afghan citizens,” a court official told The Express Tribune earlier.
The official, requesting not to be named, added that according to information available with the NADRA these Afghan nationals were issued with national identity cards, National Alien Registration Authority (Nara) cards and also Proof of Registration. “Once the list was received by the K-P police chief, they started registering FIRs against nazims, councillors and other officers.” He added the action was initiated in the backdrop of the deadly December 16 Army Public School attack.
He said the forms contained the attesters’ CNIC numbers, addresses and other personal details, which helped the police book them.
The police have booked the accused officials and LG councillors under sections 419 and 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code and sections 30 and 31 of the NADRA Act for illegally attesting CNIC documents for Afghan refugees. The court official added if found guilty, the accused can be imprisoned for as many as three years.
Earlier on Friday, the same court dismissed similar bail applications of 15 former nazims and councillors in the same case. Under directives of IGP Nasir Khan Durrani, the police have drummed up efforts to round up all former and current government employees who, in any capacity, attested CNIC forms for Afghan citizens, helping them become Pakistani nationals illegally.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2015.
The district and sessions court rejected bail-before-arrest applications of 14 more former local government representatives for approving CNIC papers of Afghan nationals.
However, pleas of six former female councillors, 10 college lecturers and one doctor were accepted on various grounds when proceedings resumed in the said case on Monday. Defendants told district and sessions judge Shahid Khan they were unaware of any verifications made from their offices, and the cardholders used bogus stamps of which they have no knowledge.
Calling into question
The accused also shed light on inadequate investigation in the case, saying documentary evidence of CNIC papers attested by them has not been presented in the case file. They added the ultimate responsibility lies with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to countercheck the stamps and signatures before accepting documents for processing.
Upon hearing the arguments, the court accepted the pre-arrest bail applications of Shabnam of Michni, Shaheen Asghar and Rahima Bibi of Paharipura, Asmat Jabeen of Faqirabad, Shakeera Bukhari of Hayatabad and Zarina of Nasir Bagh. Bail pleas of 10 college lecturers and a doctor – Ajab Khan, Atiqur Rehman, Ayub Khan, Khurshid Alam, Mohammad Alamgir, Muhammad Ilyas, Muhammad Nawaz, Nasarullah, Dr Nisar Anwar, Zafarullah and Mohammad Saeed Butt – were also accepted.
Meanwhile, applications of former LG representatives Murad, Imtiaz, Tariq, Liaquat Ali, Mustaqim, Abdul Wahab, Abdul Nabi, Mudasir Zaman, Noor Khan, Noor Ahmad, Rahim Wali, Mujahid, Jamil and Muhammad Shah were rejected by the court. They were handed over to various police investigation teams for further interrogation.
Rounding up
“The interior ministry issued a list to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police with the names of all those nazims, councillors, teachers and other officials who verified the CNIC forms for Afghan citizens,” a court official told The Express Tribune earlier.
The official, requesting not to be named, added that according to information available with the NADRA these Afghan nationals were issued with national identity cards, National Alien Registration Authority (Nara) cards and also Proof of Registration. “Once the list was received by the K-P police chief, they started registering FIRs against nazims, councillors and other officers.” He added the action was initiated in the backdrop of the deadly December 16 Army Public School attack.
He said the forms contained the attesters’ CNIC numbers, addresses and other personal details, which helped the police book them.
The police have booked the accused officials and LG councillors under sections 419 and 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code and sections 30 and 31 of the NADRA Act for illegally attesting CNIC documents for Afghan refugees. The court official added if found guilty, the accused can be imprisoned for as many as three years.
Earlier on Friday, the same court dismissed similar bail applications of 15 former nazims and councillors in the same case. Under directives of IGP Nasir Khan Durrani, the police have drummed up efforts to round up all former and current government employees who, in any capacity, attested CNIC forms for Afghan citizens, helping them become Pakistani nationals illegally.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2015.