Rawalpindi court issues non-bailable arrest warrants for Rana Sanaullah in corruption case

A Rawalpindi court on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in a corruption case.

The order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was passed by the court of Senior Civil Judge Ghulam Akbar. It states that Sanaullah was nominated in an first information report (FIR) and his arrest “is necessary in the case, so non-bailable arrest warrants of the accused may be issued”.

“Records reflect that contention of the investigating officer is genuine, hence, the same is accepted in the interest of justice and non-bailable arrest warrants of the accused namely Rana Sanaullah is issued accordingly,” the order stated.

Meanwhile, PTI, on its official Twitter account, said that a police party has departed to arrest Sanaullah and will soon reach the Kohsar police station.

“According to the rules, the process of arresting Rana Sanaullah will begin by informing the local police,” it added.

The development was also confirmed by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) of Punjab.

“The warrants have been issued because Sanaullah failed to appear in the anti-corruption inquiry despite being summoned several times,” a spokesperson of the department told Dawn.com.

He added that orders have been issued to arrest the minister and present him for the probe.

Elaborating on the charges against Sanaullah, the spokesperson said that the minister has been accused of purchasing two farmhouses at the Bismillah Housing Scheme in Kallar Kahar at a price lower than the scheduled rate.

“Both the plots were given to Sanaullah’s wife as a bribe.

“Akhlaq Ahmed, the owner of the society, has also been booked for bribing Sanaullah with a plot to get his society registered,” he said, adding that the opening ceremony of the project was attended by both the minister — who was in charge of the law ministry back then — and his wife.