LAHORE: Lahore police arrested a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf legislator from Punjab from the office of Lahore Development Authority in Johar Town neighbourhood.
Nazir Chohan, an active member of Jahangir Tareen posse, was booked in May on the complaint of Minister of State for Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar who accused the former of levelling allegations concerning his faith during a television programme.
The case was registered at Race Course police station in Lahore under sections 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 298 (making statements with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) and 153 (provoking to cause riot) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Responding to the development, Chohan had accused Akbar of running a “planned campaign” against him.
Following the arrest, Chohan was shifted to the Racecourse police station and he would later be moved to a cell of the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency, police said.
Chohan was later presented in a district and sessions court. According to a court order, the charges against the MPA were “bailable in nature.” Therefore, he should be released on bail if he submits bail bonds of Rs100,000 with one local surety to the satisfaction of the court, it said.
However, if Chohan fails to submit bail bonds and the local surety, he would be sent to judicial lockup and would be presented in the court again on August 10 along with a report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
In April, the Tareen group had in a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan accused Akbar of misusing the Federal Investigation Agency against Tareen in the sugar scandal, contending the mills of Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiar and Haroon Akhtar, another PTI leader, were not made part of the investigation.
In a press conference following the meeting, Raja Riaz, another PTI MPA and also a member of the group, said that the posse shared their reservations regarding Akbar following which “the prime minister said he will not allow injustice to be done with anyone and that we should leave it to him and he takes responsibility”.
