Land scam case: LHC suspends Sanaullah’s arrest warrant

Rawalpindi: The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Friday suspended the arrest warrant of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in an inquiry related to the purchase of plots in a housing society at a “throwaway price”.

Last week, the court of Special Judicial Magistrate Ghulam Akbar had issued an arrest warrant for Sanaullah.

Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister for Anti-Corruption retired Brigadier Musaddiq Abbasi had alleged the minister had taken two plots as a “bribe” from an “illegal housing society” -- the Bismillah Housing Scheme -- in Chakwal district.

Taking up a petition filed by Sanaullah’s lawyer against the warrant today, Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan stopped the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) from arresting the minister and raiding his house.

On October 10, an ACE team returned empty-handed from Islamabad’s Secretariat Police Station after failing to arrest Sanaullah because of a “lack of cooperation” by the Islamabad police.

However, the Islamabad police had claimed that ACE refused to present the record in the case.

Earlier this week, Sanaullah accused the ATC of “tampering records” and “misleading the court” in a four-year-old case against him.

The minister had filed an application in the LHC through his lawyer Razzaq A. Mirza for the cancellation of his arrest warrants issued by Special Judicial Magistrate Ghulam Akbar on October 8 in an alleged graft case.

Justice Sadaqat also summoned the Director General Anti-Corruption, Punjab and the investigation officer along with the record on October 17.