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| August 4, 2005 | Thursday | Jumadi-us-Sani 27, 1426 |
Arrest minister or face sit-ins, says MMA
LAHORE, Aug 3: Demanding the arrest of the Punjab tourism minister and his supporters who allegedly opened fire on a Watan Dost Group’s election office, the MMA has threatened to stags a series of sit-ins in the city if its demand is not accepted. Lahore MMA president Hafiz Salman Butt told a press conference here on Wednesday that Punjab Tourism Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and his supporters had opened fire on the UC-105 election office of the group in Nawankot and injured a worker of the alliance on Tuesday.
He demanded that the government should dismiss the minister while the election commission should bar the minister-backed candidates from taking part in local elections. Lahore Jamaat-i-Islami secretary-general Ameerul Azeem and UC-105 nominee for the slot of Nazim Chaudhry Saleem were also present.
Mr Butt alleged the minister was openly interfering in local polls and was electioneering in his official car. If the accused, he threatened, were not arrested, they would stage sit-ins in the city and encircle gambling dens allegedly being run by the minister.
The MMA leader said they had no personal enmities with the provincial minister and government’s nominees. However, they would not allow them to disturb peaceful atmosphere in the city, he said.
He also drew the attention of the government as well as of the election commission towards official protocol being given to former district Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood and said it was a violation of election rules.
A Nawankot resident, Asif Shabbir, told reporters that four people had kidnapped him from outside the election office of Chaudhry Saleem and took him to the outhouse of Mian Aslam Iqbal.
He alleged that they tortured him and forced him into testifying before police that the Jamaat-i-Islami was involved in the Tuesday’s firing incident. On refusal, they released him after giving him more thrashing.
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