Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa (pictured above) said what the CCTV had shown and verification of the credit cards had confirmed that these were used without lawful authority. - File photo
LAHORE: Upset at the emergence of one after another scandal involving its parliamentarians, the Pakistan Muslim League-N high command has decided to act strictly against MPA Shumaila Rana who allegedly used some stolen credit cards for shopping.
According to sources, the MPA has been asked by the party leadership to tender her resignation from women reserved seat (W-307) after she failed to turn up at a meeting convened here on Sunday to hear her point of view.
The resignation would, however, be forwarded to the Punjab Assembly speaker after formal announcement of the inquiry report.
‘The incident (of using stolen credit cards) is very unfortunate and legal action will certainly be taken on the issue,’ Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif later told reporters at a function.
Sardar Zulfikar Khosa, who is Punjab chapter president of the party and senior adviser to the chief minister, said what the CCTV had shown and verification of the credit cards had confirmed that these were used without lawful authority.
According to him, Miss Rana will be made to resign. The decision could be different if it was found that the incident was an outcome of some money dispute, etc. He would not explain the ‘different’ decision.
Miss Rana had never been a party activist, said another PML-N leader, adding she was given party ticket in recognition of the services rendered for the party by her mother, Anjum Rana, who was not a graduate.
Estranged from her husband, Hidayatullah, for contracting a second marriage, Anjum along with daughter Shumaila was living in Nadirabad on Bedian Road and would attend party meetings and rallies with difficulty while traveling in vans and buses. Anjum, a committed PML-N activist, was, however, suspended from membership a couple of times for violating party discipline.
To a question, Khosa said the media had done a good job by disclosing to public wrongdoings of elected representatives and that the party had no complaint with the media provided it unfolded scandals after a proper investigation like it did in the recent case.
He said the PML-N leadership acted immediately after any scandal involving party MPs came to its knowledge anywhere.
He recalled that MNA from Rawalpindi, Haji Pervaiz Khan, was made to resign when he was found involved in using unfair means in an examination.
Similarly, the office of political adviser to the chief minister was withdrawn from MPA Munawwar Ali Gill allegedly involved in a rape case, he added.
About pardoning prisons minister Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor in two different incidents, clash with Customs staff at the Lahore airport and physically assaulting a woman opposition member in the Punjab Assembly, he defended that the inquiry report in the airport clash had found the Customs staff misbehaving with the minister.
In the assembly incident, Khosa held the woman MPA (Bushra Gardezi) responsible for provoking the treasury by waving a placard declaring leader of the house (Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif) a traitor. ‘The woman is sitting in the party of traitors (PML-Q) which is not calling a violator of the Constitution (General Pervez Musharraf) a traitor but instead is labelling a man (Punjab chief minister) who has just lent something (water) to a province in the larger national interest.’
DAWN: Staff Report:Monday, 13 Jul, 2009
3 PPC sections added to FIR against Shumaila
LAHORE - Ghalib Market police Monday added another three PPC sections to the FIR registered against PML-N MPA Shumaila Rana on the request of the complainant, Zaira Malik.
Police sources said the three PPC sections 420,468 and 471 were added to the case of MPA Shumaila Rana for committing fraud and cheating the complainant woman. Earlier, the case was registered against the accused MPA only under section 379 of PPC.
The police investigators found fake signatures of the MPA on the receipt she received from a jewellery shop after purchasing jewellery on the stolen credit cards, the sources said.
The sources further added the accused MPA did not join investigation despite lapse of three days. The police investigators asked the MPA to reach police station and submit her statement in her defence but to no avail.
A police officer told this scribe seeking anonymity that the accused MPA was asked to join the investigations but neither she contacted the police nor gave any information about her inability to join the investigations. To a question about her bail from a local court, the police officer said the accused had provided no documents to the police in this regard.
He said the competent authorities had barred the police from arresting the accused ‘until further orders’.
When contacted, Incharge Investigation Ghalib Market police station, Inspector Imran Khan said that efforts were being made to contact Shumaila Rana to get her statement as without her version the police could not proceed with the investigations.
He, however, denied the reports about reconciliation efforts between both the parties saying that addition of new PPC sections in the FIR was a clear signal that the police were going ahead to take legal action against the accused MPA.
The Nation:Tuesday,July 14, 2009
MPA denies shopping on stolen credit card
Daily Times Monitor:Monday,July 14, 2009
LAHORE: Denying her involvement in the credit card theft case, MPA Shumaila Rana has termed the allegations staged against her as baseless and a conspiracy, a private TV channel reported.
According to the channel, Shumaila said the police was investigating the matter and the public would know the truth soon.
She expressed confidence in the party leadership and termed her media trial as baseless, the channel added. She said she did not fear anyone except God and the media trial against her was an example of yellow journalism.
According to another news channel, another woman named Uzma has also accused Shumaila of theft, saying she stole her digital camera. Uzma said she and Shumaila were attending a conference two months ago when the MPA stole a camera from her purse. She said the MPA was the only person sitting next to her when she left her seat to address the conference.
Sessions judge summons bank managers
LAHORE: The District and Sessions judge has summoned the managers of the banks to produce the record of transactions on credit cards allegedly stolen and used by MPA Shumaila Rana at two different shops. The court issued these orders on an application submitted by the Ghalib Market police, which sought the court’s directions on examining the record. Police submitted in the application that it required the particular information from the respective banks in investigating the case. Daily Times:taff report
Women become cautious at gyms, health clubs
LAHORE: Women from all strata of society have become cautious after MPA Shumaila Rana allegedly stole a woman’s credit cards and bought jewellery and clothes worth Rs 80,000 on the cards. Women visiting different health clubs, beauty parlours and gyms have demanded provision of separate lockers for the safety of their stuff. Zaib — a swimming pool and gym in-charge at a local club in Gulberg told Aaj Kal that Shumaila had committed a shameful act. She accused the media of blowing the incident out of proportion and hence casting a bad impression on the viewers abroad. She said after the incident, women coming to the health club had become suspicious of fellow visitors. She said most of the women coming to such clubs were well off and carried jewellery, cash and ATM cards in their bags. Previously, the members would put away their stuff without any fear, but now they had become very cautious and demanded separate lockers, she said.” We will have to fulfil this genuine demand of our members in a next couple of days,” she added. Women at the swimming pool condemned the incident, saying that women from lower classes used to commit such crimes at markets and shrines, but they were amazed that women in high social positions could commit such an act. They said they wanted separate lockers so that they could put their stuff in a safe place. aaj kal report:Daily Times:Tuesday,July 14, 2009
