17-year-old case against Kulsoom Nawaz resurfaces

HYDERABAD: A 17-year-old case registered against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife and Lahore NA-120’s candidate Begum Kulsoom Nawaz has resurfaced.

President Mamnoon Hussain, Shah Muhammad Shah, Begum Tehmina Daultana, Imdad Chandio, Afzal Gujjar, Captain (retd) Haleem Siddiqui, Ismail Rahu, Begum Ishrat Ashraf, including 19 other leaders, had also been nominated in that case for making speeches against the Pakistan Army and provoking the public to stage rebellion.

However, none of the above-mentioned leaders had sought bail in this case. The Hyderabad Cantt subdivision police station did not have a complete record in this case. One of the police officers said that there was no knowledge regarding the challan of this case and the record was still being searched.

On March 9, 2000, PML-N Senator Raheela Magsi’s father Allah Bakhsh Magsi had organised a gathering in the Civil Lines to protest Nawaz Sharif’s ouster by General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. In this gathering, speeches were made against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

According to details at the Hyderabad Cantt police station, an FIR was registered in the tenure of Inspector Hamid Ali Thaeem. In this FIR, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz, President Mamnoon Hussain, Shah Muhammad Shah, Begum Tehmina Daultana, Imdad Chandio, Afzal Gujjar, Captain (retd) Haleem Siddiqui, Ismail Rahu, Begum Ishrat Ashraf, Kanwar Jaffar Rajput, Ali Bakhsh alias Pappu Shah and Roshan Baloch were included.

The case was registered under MPO 16-124A, 153-153A, 7, 7A/B, ATA 1997, amended law 1999. All of the above-mentioned leaders made speeches against the Pakistan Army inciting the public to rebellion. The police authorities said that the case was pending. It is important to notice that none of the leaders had sought bail in this case or made an effort to end this case.

On the other hand, attempts were being made to present this FIR before the returning officer on August 17, 2017 to rebuff Kulsoom Nawaz’s nomination documents. While presenting his viewpoint, a police officer said that the challan of this case against Kulsoom Nawaz cannot be presented in the special anti-terrorism court. The case is pending and is being legally revisited. None of the leaders has taken bail in this case. Ismail Rahu has left the PML-N and joined the Pakistan People’s Party. On the other hand, Shah Muhammad Shah is the vice-president of the PML-N.