FAISALABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz parliamentarian MPA Rana Shoaib Idrees, wanted by police for attacking a police station and thrashing policemen, is allegedly involved in collection of extortion from textile mills situated in Khurrianwala area, says an intelligence report.
He is also involved in receiving extortion from wagon stands in Khurrainwala while his outhouse is used to protect criminals. The report says the MPA and his people block roads whenever they want to pressurise the government machinery.
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The MPA, however, denies the allegations and says the report has been prepared to frame him.
The report prepared by a secret agency was forwarded to the Punjab government in the backdrop of the case registered against Idrees and his more than 50 ‘henchmen’ for attacking the Khurrianwala police station.
Intelligence report says MPA collected money from textile mills, wagon stands
Report (copy available with Dawn) mentioned the Khurrianwala industrial area had half a dozen large-size textile units and the MPA was receiving up to Rs200,000 per month from each mill through different sources.
Mills’ labour contractors also paid up to Rs40,000 per month to MPA’s men.
The report said the MPA and his men were behind grouping among the labour. Through this channel they extorted money from owners.
The report claimed that Moosa, Waris, Abu Bakar, Anas, Bilal, Abdul Razzaq and Abdul Hayye collected extortion on MPA’s behalf.
Abdul Wahid, a cousin of the MPA, was killed on Oct 24, 2011, over a dispute of extortion collection from a wagon stand. The case (1074/11) was registered against Yaseen, Iftikhar and others.
After his election as MPA, the report said, Rana Shoaib Idrees frequently resorted to firing at the house of accused Yaseen and Iftikhar and forced their families to leave the area. Now their houses were under MPA’s occupation.
The report said Iqbal wanted in a terrorism and murder case carrying a head money of Rs100,000 and his brothers Iftikhar, Riasat and Liaqat worked for the MPA.
On July 17, 2013, MPA’s men Zaheer, Mudassar and others shot at Shahzad over a dispute of extortion in a Khurrianwala wagon stand.
Rana Zikaria, an uncle of the MPA, and Zulfiqar alias Bhutto pressurised Shahazad for reconciliation. No case of the incident was registered and police could register a report two days after the incident.
The report carried names of several people involved in different cases of murder and extortion and claimed they had the blessings of Rana Idrees.
Published in Dawn, July 25th , 2014