LAHORE: The Punjab police ‘took into custody’ a suspect who hurled life threat at Senate Chairman Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Musa Gilani.

The suspect was earlier arrested and released by the Lahore police.

The Multan Cantt police registered an FIR on the complaint of MNA Musa Gilani after his father received threatening messages (against his son) on his cell phone. The former prime minister immediately alerted police.

The Punjab police engaged the Federal Investigation Agency and other state institutes concerned to trace the suspects.

An official said the threat was a major challenge for Multan police since the Gilanis had faced an identical situation back in 2013 when Ali Haider Gilani, another son of Yusuf Raza Gilani, was threatened and kidnapped by armed men from the suburbs of his hometown by a banned outfit.

The official said the Multan police obtained the record of the mobile phone number and traced two locations in neighbouring Khanewal district.

It learnt the number belonged Altaf alias Dudi who was arrested by the Lahore police recently.

As the Multan police contacted the Lahore police, they were told that the suspect had been released a day after the arrest in another case. A Multan police team then traced and re-arrested the suspect.

During interrogation, the suspect said he had lost the phone somewhere in Khanewal when the Lahore police took him into custody.

The police official said apparently it seemed someone had used the suspect’s mobile phone SIM in Khanewal to leave a threatening message to the senate chairman’s son. He said some calls were also made from the same SIM to some other people.

In the FIR, Musa Gilani said his father received threatening messages on his cell number at midnight between May 16 and 17.

Musa was elected from NA-151 in the Feb 8 general elections.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2024