LANDI KOTAL, Oct 26: The MNA-elect from NA-46 (Khyber Agency), Maulana Khalilur Rehman, is an absconder and could face disqualification if found guilty of the charges framed against him.

He, along with 13 other colleagues from the Tanzeem Ittehad-i-Ulema (TIU), Bara, had been arrested by the political administration of Bara subdivision in 1996 on charges of possessing illegal weapons while he was returning from Islamabad after attending a meeting of the Milli Yakjehti Council.

The TIU, a conglomerate of various religious organizations in Bara, had established parallel Shariat courts in tribal areas. It even awarded death penalties to a number of ‘criminals’. The arrested men also included TIU Amir Maulana Abdul Hadi.

All the arrested were kept at the Gora Qabristan police station for about three days and were later released on bail.

Some of them acquired the services of Latif Afridi Advocate to persue their case. They were charged under Section 13/14 B, Aslaha (weapons) Ordinance.

One of the co-accused, Mulana Abdul Wadood, Amir Jamaat-i-Islami of Khyber Agency, was awarded five-year jail term with Rs2,000 fine.

But Maulana Khalilur Rehman did not attend the court. Thus, Nowshera District and Sessions Judge Jahangir Khan declared him absconder in May 2000.

When approached by Dawn for his comments, Maulana Khalilur Rehman confirmed that he was an absconder and was in touch with his lawyers to obtain a bail before arrest.

He, however, alleged that the charges framed against him were baseless, and the then Bara administration was trying to harass the TIU leadership as some of their verdicts were widely praised by tribesmen.

The local administration, he also alleged, had failed to improve the law and order situation in Bara, and proclaimed offenders used to roam free in the area.

No objection was raised against him by any quarters during the time of filing of nomination papers for Oct 10 elections. Even the returning officer concerned and assistant political agent of the area did not bother to investigate the matter, despite a news item published in an Urdu daily.

When contacted by Dawn , an assistant of the agent at Bara office said it was not their job to investigate such cases.

In the meanwhile, runner-up candidate from NA-46, Mohammad Saeed Afridi, filed an application with the Election Tribunal in Islamabad, challenging the educational qualification of Mulana Khalilur Rehman. The Maulana has a religious degree from Ittehad-ul-Madaris of Mardan, which, Mr Saeed contended, was not recognized by the University Grants Commission of Pakistan.

Some sources say Mohammad Saeed intends to acquire a stay order from the court.