Rana Sanaullah

Early life and education

Rana Sanaullah Khan was born on 1 January 1955 to Sher Muhammad Khan in a Punjabi Rajput family. He received a bachelor's degree in commerce from Government College University Faisalabad and an LLB from Punjab Law College, Lahore.

He is a cousin of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry.

Political career

Pakistan People's Party

Rana Sanaullah was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the 1990 Pakistani general election.

Pakistan Muslim League (N)

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) in the 1997 Pakistani general election.

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from PP-70 (Faisalabad-XX) as a candidate of (PML-N) in the 2002 Pakistani general election. He was also elected as the leader of opposition of the Punjab Provincial Assembly. In 2003, he was abducted by alleged intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and was badly tortured for speaking against military regime. Different pictures published in different newspapers showed Rana without his signature moustache and a shaved head. His acquaintances claim that the torture resulted in such an everlasting effect that interrupted the natural process of hair growth and since then his hair didn't grow that bushy as before. When freed, he was subsequently shifted to DHQ hospital.

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from PP-70 (Faisalabad-XX) as a candidate of (PML-N) in the 2008 Pakistani general election.

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from PP-70 (Faisalabad-XX) as a candidate of (PML-N) in the 2013 Pakistani general election.

He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-106 (Faisalabad-VI) as a candidate of (PML-N) in the 2018 Pakistani general election.

He ran in the 2024 Pakistani General Election from NA-100 on PML-N Party ticket but was unsuccessful, he received 11,2639 votes against Dr Nisar Ahmed Jutt, an independent candidate who received 13,1941 votes.

Interior Minister

After dissolution of Government of Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed down as Interior Minister. On 17 April 2022, he was appointed Federal Interior Minister of Pakistan in Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs

In April 2024, the current President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari appoints him as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs.

Political controversies

Alleged links with militant organizations

Salman Taseer, the Governor of Punjab who was himself assassinated in 2011 by Mumtaz Qadri, a militant Islamist, before his death accused the PML-N in general and Rana Sanaullah in particular of entertaining links with militant organizations such as the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), a group known to use violence against Pakistan's religious minorities, especially the Shi'as. Observers note that Taseer's security at the time of his death was in the hands of the PML-N, Shehbaz Sharif being the Chief Minister of the province while Rana Sanaullah was the Law Minister.

Rana Sanaullah met SSP's leader Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi in February 2010, in his capacity as Law Minister and PML-N leader, arguing that the SSP "had a vast following and vote-bank and that its support made political sense", eventually justifying the electoral alliance between the PML-N and SSP. Christophe Jaffrelot goes further, saying that it's not only about political alliance for Rana Sanaullah but also ideological affinities, as during that campaign he "showed devotion to SSP heroes", having paid respect at the tombs of Haq Nawaz Jhangvi and Azam Tariq.

Warren Weinstein

In August 2011, he accused an American contractor in Pakistan Warren Weinstein of being an American spy although Weinstein had lived in Pakistan for seven years and there was no evidence that he was a spy. Weinstein went missing a week later and was accidentally killed in a January 2015 US drone strike on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, as announced by U.S. President Barack Obama at a White House press conference on April 23, 2015.

Model Town incident

Main article: 2014 Lahore clash

On 17 June 2014, Punjab Police raided the Minhaj-ul-Quran International's Lahore secretariat on the pretext of removing security barriers from its surroundings. Tahir-ul-Qadri's followers, who were preparing for his arrival from Canada to launch an anti-government movement on 23 June 2014, protested and deadly skirmishes started. A dozen of Tahir-ul-Qadri's devotees were killed including three women and around hundred got seriously wounded from bullet shots. Rana Sanaullah, who is considered only second to the Chief Minister, remained adamant that the police action was justified which added to the public fury.

In the wake of public reaction and opposition's criticism, Shahbaz Sharif sacked Rana Sanaullah as Law Minister, and Punjab's top bureaucrat. However, Qadri and other opposition leaders including Imran Khan held Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab, responsible for the civilian deaths at the hands of police and demanded his resignation. FIR of Model Town tragedy was registered against key figures of the present government including the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister and Rana Sanaullah.

A joint-investigation-team (JIT) was later formed to investigate the incident. Exonerated by the government led JIT he was sworn in as Punjab Law Minister again in May 2015.

Narcotics case

When Sanaullah was travelling from Faisalabad to Lahore in July 2019, the Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) Lahore team detained him close to the Ravi Toll Plaza on the highway. Under Section 9(C) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act of 1997, which contains the death penalty, life in prison, or a sentence that may last up to 14 years in jail, as well as a fine of up to Rs1 million, a first information report was filed.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), Sanaullah was allegedly involved in drug trafficking and was transporting heroin to Lahore. This information had been provided to the force. He was twice denied bail by the trial court, but on December 24, 2019, the Lahore High Court granted him liberty.

Sanaullah claimed on 10 December 2022 that the case against him was "concocted, designed, and created" after the multiple hearings. In the name of justice, equity, and fair play, he pleaded with the court to drop the charges against him. Sanaullah's lawyer informed the court that "Sanaullah had nothing to do with narcotics" and that "the case was a political ploy." He added that there were contradictions between the witness testimony and the camera footage.

Imtiaz Ahmed, Assistant Director of the ANF, and Inspector Ehsaan Azam rejected the accusations against him during the final hearing, calling them "false." Along with other petitioners, Sanaullah asserted that this was an instance of political victimization. They said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry had explicitly stated that this case had not been filed during the administration of ousted primer minister Imran Khan and had instead been brought by "influential people" in the country.

Sanaullah was exonerated on December 10, 2022, by a special court in Lahore following multiple hearings and his submission of a plea.

References

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