22 July 2004	Thursday	04 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

RAWALPINDI, July 21: A court here on Wednesday awarded a total 25.5-year imprisonment to a teenage boy in 17 cases of theft.

The special judicial magistrate, Wasim Abbas, awarded one-and-a-half-year imprisonment to the 15-year-old, Khadim Hussain, each in 17 different cases, all related to stealing of water metres.

The cases had been registered by the Sadiqabad police. The court also observed that all the imprisonments would start simultaneously meaning that the convict would actually undergo one-and-a-half-year imprisonment.

The court also issued arrest warrants for eight activists of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) for not appearing in the court during the hearing of a case.

Those issued arrest warrants included the party's central vice president, Syed Zafar Ali Shah and former PML-N MPA Shahid Satti. Others included Riaz Gujjar, Dr Ayyaz, Farooq Khattak, Zarif Raja, Zaigham Shah and Mansoor Baig.

The PML-N activists had been booked by the City police station for taking out an anti-government rally from Muslim League House, Iqbal Road. The PML-N central information secretary, Siddiqul Farooque along with Raja Nasir, Mohammad Shafique, Nadeem Zafar and Tanveer Shaikh were present in the court.

Meanwhile, the anti-terrorism court No-I rejected the plea of an alleged vehicle-lifter for withdrawal of terrorism charges against him. Judge Manzoor Ahmed Mirza rejected the plea of Fayyaz Ahmed, who allegedly lifted a car and ran it over a constable and killed him when he tried to stop him at a check point.

According to the prosecution, the accused had lifted a car from Gulistan Colony, where there was an unprecedented security after a life attempt on President Musharraf near Jhanda Chichi bridge.

The accused was asked by the army personnel to stop at a nearby check point for search, but he sped the car breaking two barriers one after the other. However, at the third point, a police constable, Nahid Akhtar, came in the way to stop the car but the accused ran the car over him and killed him on the spot. Later on, the army personnel arrested the accused in a swoop, the prosecution contended.