Special Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Shabbir Hussain Chattah has issued arrest orders for former Punjab chief minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif because he was a court absconder in the Sabzazar shootout case. The court had charged Sharif with ordering the extra-judicial killings of five people when he was chief minister.
The judge has now ordered the police to arrest Sharif and bring him to the court when he arrives from abroad. The arrest warrants came in his exile in 2003. He returned to Pakistan in 2004 but was forcibly bundled out. The application, filed by Saeed-ud-Din is seeking the arrest warrants of the exiled leader.
He said earlier in 2004 that Sharif returned to the country but the government had sent him back with mala fide intention. Saeed-ud-Din accused the government of protecting the killer of his sons. The appellant said all the concerned police officers, including inspector general police (IGP), his deputy, SSP Operations and the Sabzazar Police station house officer had the court's orders.
An Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore had already declared Sharif and Muhammad Tariq Asghar absconders and also separated their trial from the main accused.
The FIR of this case was registered on the directions of Lahore High Court.
According to the FIR, police raided at the house of Saeed-ud-Din on April 21, 1998, took his son Salah-ud-Din to the police station and demanded Rs 5000 for the release. Complainant said that he read in the newspaper on April 27, 1998 that his son and four others - Wakeel, Waseem, Haider and Abdul Rauf - were killed in a police encounter. He alleged that this whole encounter was held on direction of Mian Shahbaz Sharif.
The other accused in the case included former Lahore Senior Superintendent of Police Ahmad Raza Tahir, Deputy Superintendent of Police Umar Virk, Muhammad Asghar, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Zulfiqar Ahmad, ASI Lala Roshan, Head Constable Noor-ul-Hassan, Constable Abid Hussain, Shamshad Ahmad, Munir Ahmad, Muhammad Riaz, Manzoor Ahmad and Hakim Ali.
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