ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA from Islamabad, Anjum Aqeel Khan, who was arrested after rejection of his bail in a land scam case on Saturday, enjoys complete backing of the party which is evident from the fact that he has not even bothered to respond to the show-cause notice issued to him by the party’s special disciplinary committee despite expiry of the deadline four months back.
The four-member committee, headed by Senator Raja Zafarul Haq, on July 20 had given 10-day time to the MNA, asking him to submit a written reply to the notice carrying three questions by July 30.
When contacted, Mr Haq on Saturday confirmed that Mr Khan had so far not submitted any written statement, but said the MNA had verbally informed him about his viewpoint. He said the party believed the MNA was being politically victimised by the government.
Through the notice, the MNA had been asked to give reasons for his “failure to exercise the leadership and return to the police station immediately after a crowd forcibly removed you from the police custody outside Police Station, Shalimar.” Besides,
Mr Khan had also been asked to give “reasons” for his arrest and “facts” about his alleged involvement in the National Police Foundation land case, which is being investigated by the FIA.
Mr Khan had also been asked to give “reasons” for his arrest and “facts” about his alleged involvement in the National Police Foundation land case, which is being investigated by the FIA.
Sources in the party told Dawn that there was a strong group within the PML-N which had so far saved Mr Khan facing charges of land fraud and attack on policemen from possible disciplinary action by the party leadership.
The sources said the group comprising some influential figures had lobbied actively within the party and remained successful in restraining PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif from taking any extreme step against him.
Mr Sharif, according to the sources, at one point of time had almost made up his mind to expel Mr Khan from the party and seek his resignation from the assembly for causing an irreparable damage to the party’s image by not only escaping from the police custody but also defying the leadership’s directives to surrender to the police.
He, however, deferred the action and constituted a special four-member committee headed by Senator Zafarul Haq to probe the matter.
However, the sources said, the committee absolved the MNA from the charges of escaping from the police custody and termed the whole incident part of political victimisation. The committee in its report had stated that the MNA was forcibly
removed from the police custody by a crowd and that the escape was not pre-planned.
removed from the police custody by a crowd and that the escape was not pre-planned.
Mr Sharif expressed dissatisfaction over the report and asked the committee to issue a show-cause notice to the MNA.
The sources said the friends of Mr Khan in the party had been telling Mr Sharif that the MNA’s expulsion could be detrimental for the party as it would not only provide an opportunity to the opponents to exploit the whole incident but would also be difficult for the PML-N to regain the National Assembly seat (NA-48), if by-elections were held.
Moreover, the sources said, the group members believed that Mr Khan’s expulsion could also cause financial damage to the party as he was considered to be a strong financier.
One of the strong supporters of Mr Khan said they had told Mr Sharif that the party had in the past taken action against its lawmakers after succumbing to the pressure of media and the opponents and some of them were later absolved from the charges by courts.
He gave examples of former MNA from Rawalpindi Pervez Khan when his nephew was caught for allegedly appearing in the BA examinations in place of his uncle, and MPA Shumaila who was charged with stealing a credit card. He said the leadership had been advised to wait for a court verdict in the cases against Mr Khan.
Interestingly, the party has already suspended the basic membership of seven party activists nominated in the FIR with Mr Khan under the Anti-Terrorism Act for their alleged involvement in the attack on the policemen carrying Mr Khan to the police station.
Raja Zafarul Haq denied that any efforts were being made in the party to save the MNA. He said the incidents that led to the arrest of the MNA and his escape from the police custody on July 15 clearly showed that Mr Khan was being politically victimised because of his active participation in protests against the government in the National Assembly.
Courtesy DAWN NEWS
