July 17, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 13, 1429

LAHORE, July 16: An additional district and sessions judge on Wednesday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former chief minister Pervaiz Elahi, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and nine other accused in a suit filed by a doctor who was tried and exonerated from the charges of raping a girl.

The rest of the accused in respondents include PPP MNA Farzana Raja, former Punjab chief secretary Salman Siddique, former additional secretary Haji Nawaz Khokhar, former MPA Saba Sadiq, former secretary health Javed Malik, former SSP Operations, Lahore Amir Zulfiqar and Prof Mumtaz Hussain of the King Edward College.

Judge Mohammad Masood Bukhsh Hashmi ordered the Inspector General of Punjab police to produce all the accused before the court on July 25.

On Wednesday, Mayo Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Fayyaz Ranjha, Maulana Mohammad Akram of Jamia Ashrafia, Prof Majeed Husain of Ganga Ram Hospital, former health minister Tahir Ali Javed and former MPA Rubina Sulehri appeared in the court and submitted their reply to the suit.

The judge took up the case on an application filed by Dr Maqsood Hussain under Qazf Ordinance.

Dr Masood was tried for raping a girl admitted to the Mayo Hospital after being hurt in the 2005 earthquake. The court after the trial found that the charges were baseless.

He informed the court that he had been implicated in a false case which had gravely damaged his reputation and career as well. He said that in 2005 when he was a surgeon at the Mayo Hospital, an earthquake victim from Muzaffarabad, Ajeeba Jabeen, was admitted to the hospital.

Dr Maqsood contended that he was arrested on the charges of physically abusing the girl. Later, the Supreme Court on the statement of the girl declared him innocent and exonerated him from the charges.

He said the former chief minister on the recommendations of the health minister ordered his arrest and registration of a case.

Dr Maqsood said he had taken up the matter with Mayo Hospital MS Dr Fayyaz Ranjha, health minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed, secretary health Javed Malik and additional secretary health Imdad Bosal, but no action was taken.

He said that almost all political figures of the previous and the present government scandalised the case by giving false statements in the media. He requested the court to initiate criminal proceedings against the accused and direct them to pay Rs4.8 billion as damages.