ISLAMABAD, March 8: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges on Thursday directed the Sindh police to get a case registered against a provincial minister for allegedly attempting to murder a woman MNA of People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) during the by-polls held on a provincial assembly seat in Jamshoro last month.
The committee chairman, Sardar Nasrullah Dreshak, issued the directives on the recommendations of all the members when the police officials concerned failed to justify their act of refusing registration of an FIR (first information report) against provincial minister Altaf Unnar and others on the complaint of PPP MNA Dr Azra Fazal, sources told Dawn.
Dr Azra Fazal had moved a privilege motion in the National Assembly in its last session stating that the officials at Budhapur police station, Jamshoro, were not ready to register the FIR on her complaint against the sitting provincial minister. She had alleged that Mr Unar and some of his accomplices had directly opened fire on her vehicle when she was visiting the area during the by-polls.
Dr Azra, who is the sister of Asif Zardari (husband of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto), apprised the committee members about the details of the incident. She told committee members that despite her repeated requests, the police officials concerned refused to register the case forcing her to file a petition before the additional session judge, Jamshoro, at Kotri.
The district police officer (DPO) of Jamshoro and senior officials of the Sindh police told committee members that the court had verbally instructed them to carry out investigations into the incident and register a case, if it was proved.
They said that the police did not register the case as it failed to find any evidence to prove the involvement of Altaf Unar in it.
The sources said the police officials confirmed that the PPP MNA was attacked and they had found empty shells of bullets from the crime scene.
Besides Dr Azra Fazal, the meeting was attended by Makhdoom Ahmed Alam Anwar, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Kunwar Khalid Yunus, Syed Naveed Qamar, Khwaja Asif, Rana Omar Nazir, Zulfiqar Gondal, Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Ghulam Ali Nizamani and Chaudhry Imranullah.
