LAHORE: Punjab police on Thursday lodged a case against Minister for Interior and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah under Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

The Industrial Estate police station of Gujrat [the hometown of Chief Minister Parvez Elahi] registered a first information report (FIA) against Rana Sanaullah on the complaint of a citizen, Shakaz Aslam.

Political circles declared it a tit-for-tat move, saying the FIR was registered in Punjab against the interior minister a few days after Islamabad police lodged a case against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman and former premier Imran Khan on the same [anti-terrorism] charges.

In the case registered against Imran Khan, the complainant was a judicial officer, while in Punjab the FIR was lodged against Rana Sanaullah by a commoner.

Move being seen as tit-for-tat for case filed against PTI chief in Islamabad

An official said the decision to lodge the case against Mr Sanaullah was taken at the level of the Punjab government. He said it had been conveyed to the IG Punjab ‘just for his information’ when the matter of registration of the case was discussed at the level of Gujrat DPO and government.

The DPO was recently posted on the recommendations of the Punjab government, the official said.

Punjab Home Minister retired Col Hashim Dogar confirmed in his latest tweet on Thursday that a case had been registered against Rana Sanaullah. He said the FIR was lodged against the federal minister for [allegedly] threatening the judiciary and government officials, including the then chief secretary of Punjab.

The minister further said the charges framed in the FIR were ‘serious’ and action would be taken in accordance with the law.

Reacting to the move, former federal minister and PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi said he (Rana Sanaullah) would be arrested soon in the anti-terrorism case. “As the federal government is instituting false cases against PTI chairman Imran Khan, the masses have filed a true case against Rana Sana,” he added.

In the FIR, the complainant alleged that Rana Sanaullah appeared in a Geo TV programme on Aug 21. He said the anchor ran some old clips and statements of Mr Sanaullah which were aired on April 16, 2021, and Jan 29, 2022, on some TV channels.

In the clips, he said, Mr Sanaullah had threatened the judiciary, the Punjab chief secretary, the commissioner, other government officials and their children with dire consequences.

An official source told Dawn that the complainant was wanted to the Islamabad Police in some cases lodged with Kohsar and Aabpara police stations.

The ICT police had already issued him call up notices. According to the sources, the ICT police have initiated the process to declare him a proclaimed offender.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2022