Trader accused of misusing official security

PESHAWAR: The traders, who wrote a letter to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman about the poor law and order in the provincial capital, were said to have been refused additional guards after their rivals complained they were misusing the facility, a source said.

Atif Haleem, former president of Peshawar Chamber of Commerce, had sent the letter to PTI Chairman Imran Khan about poor law and order and increase in cases of extortion, threats and grenade attacks on the houses of businessmen and industrialists.

It stated the house of a senator as well as a former provincial minister were among the places where hand-grenades were hurled.

The letter continued that people were scared after rising incidents of snatching and other street crimes. It asked the PTI chief to take measures for the improvement of law and order as the province was being ruled by the PTI.

Many points in the letter were rightly taken up but police officials said he wrote the letter to put pressure on the police after he was refused additional guards.

Police officials said the trader was insisting on gunmen and had approached the capital city police bosses for it. They said he was already given gunmen that he misused and even the chamber authorities complained against him.

“The chamber authorities wrote a letter to the city police chief a few months back that Atif Haleem and his brother along with police gunmen attacked the president of the Peshawar chamber in presence of many guests. The letter asked to withdraw the gunmen from him as he was misusing it against his rivals and others,” said an official.

The official said the letter also mentioned many other incidents in which the said brothers scuffled with trader leaders and others and which were reported to the police.

“Two gunmen were deployed with the trader for his security but he was asking for more recently.

After he was refused additional guards, he wrote a letter to complain about the law and order,” said a senior official.