Chitral’s ex-district nazim arrested in explosives theft case
Zulfiqar Ahmad
CHITRAL, Feb 25: Former district nazim (mayor) of Chitral Maghfirat Shah was arrested in the explosives theft case in Chitral on Monday.
Sources told chitraltoday.net that a local court gave the former nazim belonging to the Jamaat-i-Islami party to the Koghuzi police on a three-day physical remand. He was arrested from the premises of the sessions court after District and Sessions Judge Syed Zumrad Shah withdrew his bail before arrest.
It may be noted that last year on February 15 about 700 kilogrammes of explosives used in blasting stones and mountains were stolen from the godown of Korean Sambu company at Koghozi. The Koreans are constructing the Golen Gol power station near the Koghozi village. Law enforcement agencies picked up a man from Ayun on the charge of stealing the explosives. During interrogation, this man told the police that he had sold some of the explosive to a son of Mohammad Khan contractor and the former district nazim.
On information provided by this accused man, some of the explosives were recovered from the son of the contractor and the ex-district nazim’s under-construction powerhouse at Jughoor Gol near Chitral town in January this year. The son of Mohammad Khan contractor was arrested and put behind bars at that time and later he was released on bail.
However, the JI leader Maghfirat Shah, who was also booked in the case under section 5 of the Explosive Act, obtained bail before arrest from the sessions court which was vacated on Monday. It may be recalled that Maghfirat Shah of Jamaat-i-Islami was elected the district nazim after he defeated Shahzada Mohiuddin in the local government election of 2005.
Maghfirat Shah’s lawyer Zafar Hayat told chitraltoday.net that his client was accused of storing 250 kgs of the stolen explsoves on the information of another man. He said he was filing an application with the court for the release of the former nazim.
Let the law take its own course. If he is indeed involved in the theft, he should be punished and of course there will remain no room for him to play a role in any party.But my question is, why people blame a party, a community or a department if someone from it commits a crime? I never have the idea that the Jamaat-i-Islami ever had asked the former nazim to illegally store the explosives. It is another matter that he was made the district nazim by the JI though he had no better qualifications for that high post than so many other able people in the party.Bad judgment on part of the JI and now by Maghfirat Shah.
This is very unfortunate and embarrassing too that a former elecetd nazim (mayor) of Chitral and a leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami has landed in jail that too on the charge of theft of explosives.
This is a very rare case in which such a high-profile man of a religious political party has been handed over to the police for interrogation. This incident has badly damaged the image of Jamaat-i-Islami in Chitral. The only option with the local party leadership is that Maghfirat Shah must be shown the door from the party which will help in restoring the image of the party to some extent.
The party, which hesitates to initiate disciplinary action against such people within its fold and opts to push things under the carpet, rarely sees the dawn. The incident took place at a time when the general elections are around the corner. The guy facing theft charges should tender an apology to the party as well as the people of Chitral who had blessed him with the important position of the district nazim.
If a man like Maghfirat Shah can go to such lowest ebb, what else you can expect from others. This is high time that JI must act with an iron hand or it will give the impression that every other member of the party has the same credential like that of Maghfirat Shah. A stitch in time saves nine.
A comment made by this scribe on a story of Mr Sher Wali Khan Aseer about a young girl’s suicide was difficult to digest by a few supporters of Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, with whom, being a journalist, I also enjoy good relations. Let me ask them how they would defend the theft case against the high-profile leader belonging to the same politico-religious party?. We the journalists are not here to offend anybody neither we are enemies of anyone but we are duty-bound to bring the facts to the limelight.
With due apology to some of my very good friends in JI, I would like to make it clear that this is nothing personal but we the journalists are also duty-bound to point out the black sheep whether they belong to Sunni or Ismaili community.
May Allah save Chitral from terrorists and explosives!