Bahria Town’s illegal race – SC orders action against sponsors

ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Monday directed immediate action against those who sponsored an illegal drag race held at Bahria Town, Rawalpindi, which killed 5 people on December 5 last year. A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani also directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest and bring back Atif Sheikh, the main organizer of the drag race and also an absconding accused, through Interpol. The court rejected a compromise reached between the victims’ families and the accused terming it dissatisfactory.
“If any such compromise has been undertaken, it should be in clear terms and under the ambit of law”, the court noted and directed Hamid Khan, counsel for Ali Riaz, son of Bahria Town’s chief executive Malik Riaz Hussain, to produce a clear agreement of compromise. Appearing on notice, Advocate General Punjab Khawaja Haris told the court that Atif Sheikh had presented a fake medical certificate for getting bail and then had left for Abu Dhabi from Peshawar. He said an application had been moved for cancellation of his passport and efforts were on to trace and bring him back to the country.
To a court query, he said there were 30 sponsors of the drag race including PTCL, DMG Security Company and PSO. The chief justice inquired why the PTCL had sponsored such an illegal drag race and what action has been taken against these firms. Haris said statements of PTCL’s Marketing Manager Lubna Jehangir and Maryam Shah of PSO had been recorded four weeks ago.
Denying influence, the police investigation officer Rana Mubashir said action was being taken against the offenders, to which the chief justice said that the police was trying to save the influential people by making scapegoats out of the weak.
During the hearing, the chief justice said the court was continuously being misled. Reprimanding Hamid Khan, the chief justice said, “Don’t involve us in this sin”. He said even the draft of the compromise was wrong. Later the court adjourned further hearing for three weeks.
Earlier, Naveed Anjam and Syed Zulfiqar Hussain Naqvi, counsels for the accused, had told the court that a compromises had been reached between the victims’ and the accused parties, adding that victims’ families had forgiven them in the name of Allah.