ISLAMABAD: A Punjab court, displaying independence, has issued non-bailable arrest warrants of a PML-N MNA in an alleged fraud case with a poor and illiterate farmer. Rana Zahid Hussain MNA from Pakpattan (NA-166), is also facing a trial in the Lahore High Court for submitting two fake degrees before the Election Commission.
In a recent development, it has come to surface that Zahid is facing an alleged case of fraud and forgery for selling a tractor of a poor farmer to someone else while the farmer had pledged his land against the loan for tractor and now the interest of the amount of tractor has multiplied manifold.
Details reveal that Muhammad Abbas of Tehsil Arifwala, District Pakpattan, had submitted an application to Zarai Tarqqiyati Bank Limited (ZTBL) in 1999 for a tractor and pledged his land. The bank issued a draft to Abbas and bank officers directed him to submit the draft with any of the tractor dealers and get a tractor. Abbas gave that bank draft to Zahid, who was the vice-chairman District Council then and also a dealer of a tractor company.
Abbas alleges that Zahid booked the tractor in his name and sold it to someone else. An FIR, a copy dated 11-8-99 available, was also lodged against Rana Zahid Hussain and others under Sections 420, 468 and 471 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Legal experts say that these sections pertain to fraud and forgery of documents related to a property.
Abbas has been struggling to get justice for the last 11 years and finally Magistrate of Arifwala, Munsif Khan Awan has issued non-bailable arrest warrants of the MNA from Pakpattan on December 22, 2010 and ordered the police to produce Rana Zahid before the court on January 4, 2011. This correspondent tried to contact Rana Zahid Hussain on his mobile number and at his landline number but he was not available. Calls to his cell phone were made from various numbers but he did not attend any and later switched off his cell phone.
It is worth mentioning that Zahid is facing a case of fake degrees in the LHC and his opponents have alleged that he had submitted two fake graduation degrees to the ECP, one from the Punjab University when he contested 2002 polls and lost, while the other of Balochistan University degree for 2008 election and succeeded. He also tampered with his Intermediate certificate and has been caught on that charge too and the Controller of Examination, Balochistan University, has submitted in writing before the Lahore High Court that Rana has concealed facts and tampered with the intermediate certificate.
