KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA-elect, who defeated the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan’s (MQM-P) candidate in its Azizabad, Karachi, stronghold, is an ‘absconder’ in a 20-year-old smuggling case, court documents show.
Mohammed Aslam Khan claimed 75,702 votes to win NA-254 Karachi Central-II, where MQM has its headquarters. The party has dominated the city for the past three decades.
The MQM-P’s Shaikh Salahuddin was runner-up with 48,813 votes in the July 25 elections.
However, court documents show that 20 years ago Khan absconded after being accused in a smuggling case in which two of his accomplices were convicted.
The special court of customs and taxation in Karachi tried Mohammed Azam and Hameeduddin, two of Khan’s accomplices, in December 1998.
According to the court order seen by Arab News, Khan had absconded when the judge Mohammed Sadiq Leghari handed down the judgment against his accomplices.
Khan faced charges of smuggling electronic goods worth 28.57 million rupees ($226,000), the official document said.
Firdous Shamim Naqvi, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Karachi chief, dismissed the allegations and said that Khan had not been convicted.
“He has already submitted a statement that he has not been convicted in any case. There is no conviction against this man,” Naqvi told Arab News.
He said that Khan was “a man of really good repute.”
“He had been holding a famous food festival in Karachi’s Frere Hall for the past five years. They government has been dealing with him, many companies have been dealing with him,” Naqvi said. “He is no criminal.”
PTI’s MNA-elect ‘absconded’ in smuggling case, documents claim
PTI’s MNA-elect ‘absconded’ in smuggling case, documents claim
- Muhammad Aslam Khan is accused in a smuggling case, which doesn’t disqualify him from contesting elections, PTI Karachi chief says
- Aslam Khan was to smuggled electronic goods into Pakistan about twenty years ago
Pakistan shuts key motorway routes as dense fog envelopes parts of Punjab
- Pakistan shuts Lahore to Sambrial, Thokar Niaz Baig to Kot Momin areas along motorway due to reduce visibility
- Motorway police advise citizens to avoid overspeeding, lane violations and unnecessary traveling amid smog conditions
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities closed key routes on the motorway on Saturday night as thick fog enveloped parts of the eastern Punjab province, the motorway police said in a statement, to save lives and reduce the chance of accidents due to reduced visibility.
Punjab cities face worsening smog each winter, driven by crop burning, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution that threatens public health and daily life. The smog season typically begins in late October, peaks between November and January and can persist through February.
As per a statement released by the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP), the M-2 motorway was closed from Thokar Niaz Baig to Kot Momin, the M-3 motorway section was closed from Faizpur to Darkhana and the M-4 area from Pindi Bhattiyan to Abdul Hakeem was also closed. The M-11 route was also closed from the provincial capital Lahore to Sambrial.
“The closure of motorways is aimed at ensuring the safety of life and property of the public,” NHMP’s central region spokesperson said in a statement.
He warned that lane violations during the prevalent smog can cause accidents, adding that visibility on the National Highway ranges from zero to 100 meters.
“Citizens are advised to prefer traveling during daytime hours,” he said. “Safe traveling time is from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.”
The police spokesperson urged citizens to avoid overspeeding and advised them to keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead while driving.
The development takes place as two of Pakistan’s largest cities, Karachi and Lahore, were ranked among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world by the Swiss air monitoring agency IQAir on Sunday morning.
Karachi was ranked as the fourth-most polluted city in the world with an air quality index of 215 (very unhealthy) while Lahore was placed at number five with an AQI of 199 (unhealthy).
