Anchorperson is a pawn, there are other powers behind him: Sanauallah

LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah on Monday said that some media personnel are considered to be credible, however, sources of some media personalities need to be questioned.

The Punjab Law Minister was addressing a press conference outside the Punjab Assembly, where he made the statements about an anchorperson who had claimed that Imran Ali, the main suspect in Zainab murder case, has 37 accounts. 

"Dr. Shahid Masood is a pawn, there are other powers behind him," claimed the provincial law minister. 

He said that an attempt was made to steer the direction of investigation in Zainab murder case.

“The nation knows who pulls the strings of these people who carry out character assassination of others,” said the provincial law minister.

He said that the powers behind the anchorperson tried to spread anarchy.

The provincial law minister said he has requested the chief justice to take notice of the trend of such baseless news, adding that an impression is being given that a ring was involved in Kasur after the main suspect, Imran Ali, was arrested in Zainab's murder.

Sanaullah added that this is tantamount to misleading the entire nation. "I want the matter to reach its logical conclusion." 

While speaking of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, he said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President only criticises the decisions not the judiciary itself.

Last week, Dr Shahid Masood had alleged that Imran Ali, the main accused in the Zainab murder case, had dozens of bank accounts.

The State Bank, in a letter to the joint investigation team formed to probe the rape and murder of Zainab, confirmed that suspect Imran Ali had no commercial bank accounts. 

Earlier, a special anti-terrorism court (ATC) handed Imran to police on a 14-day physical remand. During proceedings, the accused admitted to the rape and murder of Zainab.

Zainab was kidnapped from near her aunt’s house in Kasur on January 4. Her body was discovered in a garbage heap five days later. Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a news conference confirmed that Imran had murdered seven-year-old Zainab, referring to him as a “serial killer”.

“He [Imran] admitted to all his crimes in a polygraph test that was conducted after his DNA matched the samples,” Sharif said during the news conference.