Daily Times

A team of Punjab’s Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) returned empty-handed on Monday citing a “lack of cooperation” from the Islamabad police despite a fresh arrest warrant being issued for Interior Minister Rana Sanuallah. ACE Punjab said in a statement that the Islamabad Police “refused to cooperate” to arrest the interior minister. The officials also accused the police of misbehaving with them as they arrived at the federal capital’s Secretariat Police Station to make the arrest. “The police did not even record the arrival and departure of the anti-corruption team. Our vehicles were also taken out of the police station,” the ACE officials stated. The officials further stated that they will inform the court about the actions they had faced at the police station today. However, the capital police said in a statement that a formal arrest warrant was received at the police station but ACE Punjab refused to provide the records.

The public liaison officer further stated that the ACE was directed to take the legal route as per the prevailing procedure. However, no clear stand has been adopted by the anti-corruption body. The statement furthered that action will be taken according to all legal regulations. “The officers of Anti-Corruption Establishment Punjab are requested to resolve legal matters in a legal manner and avoid misrepresentation. Islamabad Capital Police is present at all times to comply with all court orders,” the statement further read.

A fresh arrest warrant was issued for Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah by a judicial magistrate earlier on Monday with the police ordered to immediately arrest the minister and produce him before the court.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has decided to move the court against the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) for falsifying the record of a four-year-old case and using it as a tool against him at the behest of its ‘political masters’.

“The Punjab ACE deliberately concealed the facts and obtained arrest warrants of the minister by cheating and misleading the court. This is why the Punjab ACE is not providing records to the Islamabad Police with the warrants, which is a legal requirement,” an interior minister’s spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.