PESHAWAR, July 7: A female social worker has challenged in the Peshawar High Court the withdrawal of a case by the provincial government against 23 activists of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, who were accused of setting her NGO office on fire.

Zakia Rehman, the general secretary of the Women and Children Organization, has filed a writ petition, requesting the court to declare illegal the provincial government’s order whereby five cases, including the one pertaining to her, were withdrawn. She also requested the court that the police be directed to proceed with the FIR in which the said 23 persons were nominated.

The MMA men had allegedly attacked the petitioner’s residence and offices, located on the same premises, on Oct 8, 2001, ransacked them and set them on fire.

Five FIRs were registered in the Mardan district against the MMA leaders and activists who had arranged violent demonstrations and damaged public property to protest against the US attack on Afghanistan. In one of the FIRs, NWFP Food Minister Fazle Rabbani and MNA Umar Qasim were also nominated, but later the case was withdrawn against them. The remaining cases were withdrawn by the MMA when it came to power.

The petitioner informed the court that her NGO worked for the uplift of women in Takhtbhai area. She said the main cleric of the village and some influential people turned against her organization and forced the assistant commissioner to close down the NGO.

She had challenged the sealing of her offices before the Peshawar High Court which, on Sept 25, 2001, declared the assistant commissioner’s orders illegal.

Ms Rehman said that in the wake of the US attack on Afghanistan, demonstrations were held in various parts of the country, including Mardan. She added that on Oct 8, 2001 in the guise of demonstrations the said MMA activists with some other persons attacked her house and offices and set them on fire. She said the attackers also beat up her father and hurled threats on her family.

The petitioner said the Takhtbhai police had registered the FIR No 926 about the incident and added that the accused were taken into custody after their pre-arrest bail was dismissed. They were later granted bail by the district and sessions judge.

She maintained that the NWFP home department had no legal authority under the Criminal Procedure Code to withdraw the instant FIR. She added that the said order was the result of political pressure on the government.