July 10, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 9,1424

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ISLAMABAD, July 9: Pakistan People’s Party Information Secretary Taj Haider on Wednesday alleged that political activists, particularly those belonging to the PPP, had been subjected to harassment and victimization by the regime.

In a statement, he said that in June Pir Mukaram was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau allegedly to intimidate his wife, Farzana Raja, who was a PPP MNA. Mr Mukaram is the brother of former Sindh Assembly speaker Pir Mazharul Haq, he said.

He said Mr Mukaram was arrested on the same day as Federal Minister Aftab Sherpao was acquitted of corruption charges.

He alleged that relatives of the PPP MNA from Jacobabad, Aijaz Jakhrani, had been implicated in murder cases. Mr Jakhrani had been victimized since he defeated the ruling party’s Ilahi Bukhsh Soomro in the election and subsequently refused to vote for Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali in the trust vote.

Mr Haider said that recently the husband of PPP MPA in Sindh, Farheen Mughal, was suspended from service.

He said a PPP activist, Dr Ali Thalho, had complained that last Friday, while he was not home, two persons came to his residence in Karachi, introduced themselves as belonging to an intelligence agency and demanded to search his house. When the family refused, they entered the house on gunpoint and tied the hands and feet of the family members. He said the intruders cut off the telephone lines and took away two cellular phones.