July 19, 2008	Saturday	Rajab 15, 1429

LAHORE, July 18: Justice Maulvi Anwarul Haq of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has stayed the proceedings and arrest warrants for JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, former chief minister Pervaiz Elahi and others.

The judge has also called for the record of the case on July 21 and directed Additional Advocate General Tahir Munir Malik to assist the court at the next hearing. Proceeding under the Qazaf Ordinance in a private complaint by Dr Maqsood Hasan, Additional District & Sessions Judge Muhammad Bukhsh Masood Hashmi issued non-bailable arrest warrants for several politicians and officials on Wednesday. The next day, LHC Chief Justice Sayed Zahid Hussain took a suo motu notice of the warrants, sent the matter to Justice Haq and asked him to examine “the correctness of the proceedings” under Section 435 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Justice Haq has issued a notice to Dr Maqsood Hasan in a petition filed by former King Edward Medical University vice chancellor Dr Mumtaz Hassan. Warrants have also been issued for the arrest of Dr Mumtaz Hassan.His counsel Aftab Bajwa said there was not even a slightest allegation of commission of Qazf, as defined in Offence of Qazf Ordinance-VIII of 1979, either in the complaint or in the statement of the complainant. He said the trial court proceeded in “gross violation” of the procedure prescribed by law in the matter of a private complaint and in violation of Qazf Ordinance itself.

The case surfaced after former Mayo Hospital surgeon Dr Maqsood Hasan, seeking registration of a Qazf case, filed a private complaint against several politicians and officials. As a result, the additional district and sessions judge issued arrest warrants for PPP MNA Farzana Raja, former Punjab chief secretary Salman Siddique, former additional secretary Nawaz Khokhar, former MPA Saba Sadiq, former health secretary Javed Malik, former Lahore SSP operations Amir Zulfiqar and others.

Dr Maqsood Hasan said he was deputed at a medical camp set up for Oct 8, 2005, earthquake survivors. He said Mayo Hospital medical superintendent Dr Fayyaz Ranjha and some others tarnished his reputation at a press conference by accusing him of rape of a Muzaffarabad girl.

Subsequently, he said, he was suspended from service and arrested after Gowalmandi police lodged a rape case against him. He said the Supreme Court exonerated him of the charges on the statement of the girl. He said while politicians gave statements against him for political mileage, officials exploited the situation, harming not only his reputation, but his career too. He prayed to the court to initiate criminal proceedings against all accused and direct them to pay him more than Rs4 billion as damages.