ISLAMABAD: The capital police has issued the last warning to former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad to appear before the police in connection with a complaint lodged against him.

The police said that the complaint was lodged with senior superintendent of police (operation) Islamabad the other day and later forwarded to Aabpara police station immediately for further action.

In response, the former minister was called by Aabpara police on Monday and Tuesday respectively to appear before them, they added.

However, both times, he did not appear before the police, they said, adding that now the police has asked Mr Ahmed to appear before them on Wednesday.

Police say it is the last chance for the former minister otherwise legal action will be taken against him

It is the last chance for him to appear before police, the police said, adding that otherwise legal action will be taken against him.

Mr Ahmed is not cooperating with police in an inquiry being conducted in response to the complaint, they said.

The police claimed that in a message, Mr Ahmed resiled from his earlier allegation levelled at Asif Ali Zardari. According to him he gave the statement on the basis of Imran Khan’s statement, and he does not know if there was any conspiracy.

On his Twitter account, Mr Ahmed said that he was called to Aabpara police station through the media. He submitted his reply through his lawyer, however, the station house officer (SHO) refused to receive the reply, he added.

The SHO told the lawyer that he was directed by higher officials not to take any statement through the lawyer, Mr Ahmed said, adding that he had a legal right to submit his statement through his lawyer, but the SHO was not receiving it.

Earlier, Raja Inayat-ur-Rehman, a vice president of PPP Rawalpindi Division, lodged a complaint in the office of SSP Operation Islamabad, stating that Mr Ahmad in an interview on a news channel, aired on Jan 27, alleged that Asif Zardari got assistance of some terrorist to kill Imran Khan while talking about a conspiracy.

He had claimed that he had all the information and was ready to share the same, the complaint stated, adding that the statement was made as part of a conspiracy to defame the former president and create a permanent threat for his family.

He wanted to create conflict and enmity between two groups – PPP and PTI – with this fabricated and baseless conspiracy so that the peace of the country can be disturbed, it added.

The SSP Operation’s office forwarded the complaint to Aabpara police station for further action.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2023