Daily Times

A commission of inquiry was formed on Thursday to probe the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader and former human rights minister Dr Shireen Mazari.

According to a private TV channel, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) constituted a three-member commission to probe the arrest of the former minister in a land case registered with the Anti-Corruption Establishment. The commission will be headed by former law secretary retired Justice Shakur Paracha.

Other members of the commission include former inspector general (IG) Dr Noman Khan and former federal secretary Dr Saifullah.

A notification issued by the Cabinet Division stated that the commission would review the investigation and allegations related to the arrest of Mazari and send its recommendations to the federal cabinet by July 4.

Moreover, a petition was filed for an investigation into the arrest of the PTI leader in which the court sought a report from the National Assembly by July 7. Mazari and her daughter, advocate Imaan Mazari, appeared before the court along with their lawyer Ali Bukhari.

The counsellor argued that subsequent to the commission’s notification, the body had not been productive.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah responded that the court did not have jurisdiction over the commission. The high court justice added that if the petitioner had future objections, they could reapply. The court inquired whether there was any report from the speaker of the National Assembly, to which Deputy Attorney General Arshad Kayani replied that he had not received a report.

On April 11, a First Investigation Report (FIR) was registered against Mazari by the Anti-Corruption Unit in Dera Ghazi Khan. The FIR stated that the PTI leader inherited land from her father Ashiq Muhammad Khan, fraudulently.

The agency alleged that the former minister’s father had transferred, through bogus mutation, an 800 kanal land in favour of a bogus company — Progressive Farms Limited. The FIR further said that according to Assistant Commissioner Rojhan, these companies were not traced in the records of Revenue Department.

The FIR added that the Federal Land Commission in its report had declared this mutation bogus. “During the perusal of record, it revealed that land measuring 1,386 Acres of Mst. Shireen Mehrun-Nisa Mazari was surrendered to Provincial Govt through Land Commission. In Mutation No. 39 dated 05.07.1973, there is cutting and tempering.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesperson, MPA Malik Ahmad Khan, said Mazari’s family “tampered” with land records and “forcibly took it back from poor farmers”.