April 09, 2007	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1428

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GUJRAT, April 8: The Gujrat headquarters and Gujjar Khan circle police have failed to arrest the murderers of ex-MNA Syed Manzoor Husain Shah and his nephew Syed Waqar Haider alias Qari Shah even after a lapse of two and-a-half years.

Some men from Dhola village had murdered the former MNA and three associates near Mekan village over enmity on Jan 2, 2005. A case was registered with the Lalamusa Saddar police station on the complaint of his younger brother Syed Mohsin Ali Shah.

Later in May 2005, an anti-terrorism court of Gujranwala declared the 18 nominated accused proclaimed offenders. The POs were: Muzammil Dhola, Yasir Dhola, Shafqat, Sagheer, Fazal Abbas, Mazhar, Waqar Abbas, Shafaat Husain, Samar Abbas, Qasim, Qamar Abbas, Tasawar, Imran, Jibran, Nazir and Safdar (all of Dhola village) and Nasir and Qaiser of Jorra village.

The Lalamusa Saddar police could arrest only Sagheer Dhola from the outhouse of Naeem Raza, a former adviser to the chief minister, while all other POs are still at large.

Information gathered by Dawn revealed that the Gujjar Khan police had registered a case under sections 302, 324, 148, 149 and 109 of the PPC against 13 nominated accused for killing Qari Shah on Nov 4, 2005. Two of the nominated accused included Ibrar Shah alias Baray Shah and Shahab who were arrested and sent to the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi after completion of their remand in police custody.

Later, Shahab had pleaded for his bail but the application was rejected by an area sessions judge of Gujjar Khan. Shahab was, however, granted bail by the Lahore High Court the other day. Gujjar Khan additional district and sessions judge Mian Shafi had declared the other 11 nominated accused proclaimed offenders due to their permanent disappearance from the course of law.

The court had also directed the Gujjar Khan police to arrest all the accused at the earliest. Those declared POs included Waqar Shah, Shahid Shah and Jawad Shah of Keeranwala, Mian Khadim Husain, Mazhar Husain and Mian Ibrar Husain of Chak Murtaza, Syed Nasar Mehdi of Qulewal, Chaudhry Khaliq, Bilal and Iqbal of Ditawal and Muzammil Ali of Chani village. PO Waqar Shah is a police constable while his cousin Shahid Shah is a naib nazim from Machiwal union council.

The Gujjar Khan police had sent the list of the POs to the Jalalpur Jattan, Rehmania and Lalamusa Saddar police stations with a request to enroll it on history sheet registers and help them in their arrest.

Sources said the Rehmania police station did not have history sheet register because it had recently got the status of a police station. DSP headquarters Malik Siddique Awan and Lalamusa Saddar SHO Malik Nazir told Dawn that most of the nominated accused of the murder case of Manzoor Shah were settled abroad.

They said they had contacted the Interpol for the recovery of the accused and the matter was under process.