Chanesar Town Chairman Farhan Ghani, brother of Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, was booked along with other suspects under terrorism charges for allegedly beating a “government employee” over an issue arising out of laying cables on Sharea Faisal in Karachi, it emerged on Sunday.

According to a first information report (FIR) available with Dawn.com, the complainant said he is a government employee and performing his duties on August 22 while supervising the laying of fibre optic cable near a petrol pump on Sharea Faisal.

“At around 4:47pm, around 20-25 persons travelling in three vehicles arrived there, in which the suspects and others were travelling,” the FIR stated.

“They stopped their cars near him (the complainant) and called him over, saying that “sahib (Farhan Ghani) was asking ’With whose permission are you digging the land?’”

The complainant replied by saying that he is a government employee, and this work is being carried out with a no-objection certificate from government institutions, the FIR stated.

“Some of them (suspects) misbehaved with him and asked him to stop the work immediately,” the FIR read. “When the complainant said this work was being done with the permission of all institutions, they started using abusive language and beating him.”

The FIR alleged that the suspects were asking “why he was not stopping the work on the directions of ‘the sahib’”. It further alleged that four or five armed suspects aimed pistols at the complainant.

“Subsequently, they dragged the complainant to a room of the petrol pump where they kept him in illegal confinement and continued beating him,” the FIR read.

Police eventually arrived at the scene and rescued the complainant, taking him to Ferozeabad police station, where he lodged the FIR against the suspects, including Farhan.

The FIR was registered at Ferozabad police station against Farhan and four other suspects under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 324 (attempted murder), 337A(i)(punishment for assault), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 379 (punishment for theft) and 506B (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the PPC, read with Section 7 (punishment for terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Saeed Ghani took to X to address the situation, stating that Farhan and his “associates” had a “dispute” with someone who filed an FIR, as per their “legal right”.

“Farhan Ghani, along with all the individuals, will surrender themselves to the authorities and face the law, proving their innocence in court,” he wrote.

In a video statement uploaded to X later today, Saeed outlined that the FIR was registered against his brother and the other suspects and noted that Farhan turned himself in willingly, since the act was “unlawful and warranted an FIR”.

“This is an arrest and purely a legal issue. God willing, we will resolve it by legal means,” Ghani said, expressing gratitude to party supporters and colleagues for their messages of support.

“This is not an issue for the party workers to take to heart,” he added. “We will resolve this matter soon through legal means.”