KP Bar Council condemns alleged threats to lawyer

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council has condemned the alleged life threats to a senior lawyer by a police official of the Counter-Terrorism Department and demanded his suspension and departmental inquiry against him.

“The KP Bar Council condemns the unethical and unlawful behaviour and life threats hurled by DSP Rajab Ali to senior lawyer Muhammad Sagheer Khan from Swabi, and demands the senior police officials and inspector general of police to immediately suspend him and initiate an inquiry against him,” stated a press release issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council. Talking to The News, senior lawyer Muhammad Sagheer Khan alleged that DSP Rajab Ali had hurled life threats at him and his wife Humera Azam Hoti when they tried to collect their Rs6 million loan from a third party.

“I will kill both of you if you even tried to take the loan money from the third party,” Muhammad Sagheer quoted DSP Rajab Ali’s while playing his audio message recorded on his mobile set. He said the DSP Rajab Ali’s threatening call had been recorded and it was clear evidence against him for misuse of his authority.

The lawyer alleged the police official was known for alleged extortion and torturing people by misusing his authority. On the call of KP Bar Council, the Peshawar High Court Bar Association and Peshawar Bar Association announced strike at courts today to protest the life threats of CTD official to the lawyer and his wife. On February 8, 2016, an accountability court had sentenced DSP Rajab Ali to 12 years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs10.4 million in a reference by the National Accountability Bureau for making illegal assets. However, on April 12, 2017, a Peshawar High Court division bench of Justice Roohul Amin Khan and Justice Muhammad Ghazanfar Khan had set aside the accountability court’s decision and acquitted Rajab Ali and co-accused Latif Hussain.