Court directs ACE officials to continue efforts for Rana Sanaullah’s arrest.
A local court in Rawalpindi on Monday again issued arrest warrants for Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah directing the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) team to arrest him and present him before the court.
Rana Sanaullah has been accused of purchasing two farmhouses at the Bismillah Housing Scheme in Kallar Kahar at a price lower than the scheduled rate.
A request to name the interior minister a proclaimed offender in the case was, however, denied by senior Civil Judge Ghulam Akbar.
The judge made a comment during the hearing about how, considering that the minister’s warrants were only issued a few days prior, the court might instantly label him a proclaimed offender. He ordered the ACE team to go back to Islamabad and arrest Sanaullah.
At the start of the hearing, the investigation officer told the court that the accused was hiding. He said that the ACE team tried to arrest him but all in vain and pleaded with the judge to declare him PO. But the judge rejected his request and reissued Sanaullah’s arrest warrants.
On Saturday, the special court judge issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the interior minister for not appearing before the Anti-Corruption Establishment in connection with a corruption inquiry.
The Kohisar police station SHO reportedly refused to follow directions when the ACE team headed to Islamabad to arrest Sanaullah. The SHO claimed that the warrants contained an address from Faisalabad. He stated that neither Sanaullah nor he had established an office in the area around Kohisar.
Sources further said that the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment team departed the federal capital without executing the minister despite having incomplete arrest warrants in their possession.
The Anti-Corruption Establishment team, meanwhile, departed Rawalpindi Kuchehri and travelled to Islamabad in order to detain Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.