The Strange Case of Shumaila Rana: MPA Arrested for Credit Card Theft

Posted on July 12, 2009
Filed Under Law & Justice, People
66 Comments
Total Views: 82076

Adil Najam

Punjab Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Shumaila Rana, of the PML-N, has been arrested by the Punjab police for allegedly stealing two credit cards and then going on a shopping spree with them. The PML-N leadership has said that the law will take its course. But this adds one more shocking story to what is already a litany of sorts.

The details are bizarre enough not to need an explanation. According to the Daily Times:

Ghalib Market police on Sunday registered a case against a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) female MPA for allegedly stealing two credit cards from a woman’s wallet and buying jewelery and clothes worth Rs 80,000 on those cards, the police said. The FIR No 551/09 was registered against the MPA under Section 379 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), on the complaint of Muqeet Salam, brother-in-law of Zaira Malik of Canal Bank.

The police said the accused MPA Shumaila Anjum Rana could not be contacted so far… He said Salam alleged in the application that his sister-in-law Zaira was in a fitness club on July 7 and found her credit cards missing from her purse. He said Zaira contacted the bank officials concerned who informed her that transactions worth Rs 80,000 had been made on her credit cards. Salam said the banks also informed Zaira that the accused purchased goods from a shop in Siddique Trade Centre.

The police quoted the complainant as saying that the shop owner showed the recorded CCTV footage to them and finally Zaira identified Shumaila, who is not a member of the club. He said they had also received the records of transactions in which Malik’s credit cards were used.

Interestingly, The Nation reports that Ms. Rana is a member of the Punjab Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Auqaf, and more importantly, that she is also a member of Chief Minister’s Coordination Committee for the IDPs which deals with the Punjab Chief Minister’s Fund for the IDPs of NWFP.

The report in The Nation provides more context information:

This time it is not a male parliamentarian, rather to jump into the already-boiling fray of irregularities and illegalities by elected representatives is a female MPA, Shumaila Rana, who was ‘chosen’ on reserved seats to serve the masses. The Pakistan Muslim League-N has vowed to fulfil all legal formalities in investigating the case. On the other hand, if found guilty, she will lose her seat, as no convicted can become a parliamentarian, and stands disqualified as conviction as per the Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

Previously, it were MNA Haji Pervaiz Khan from Rawalpindi and Minister Prisons Ch Abdul Ghafoor of the N-League, who indulged in impersonation and acted highhandedly at the Lahore Airport respectively. Interestingly, the MNA lost his seat after a committee found him guilty, and the Minister was given honourable exit from the charges by the PML-N leadership despite the fact that the committee found him guilty on more than two accounts. Prior to Shumaila Rana’s case, another N-League’s MPA Munawar Gill was indicted in a rape case. He is said to have been found innocent in the case.

The first timer to the Punjab Assembly Shumaila Rana, reportedly found guilty of stealing credit card from another female’s bag, and indulging in ‘illegal’ shopping, is member of the Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Auqaf. Moreover, she is also member of Chief Minister’s Coordination Committee for the Internally-Displaced People, which is an offshoot of Punjab Chief Minister’s Fund for the IDPs of NWFP.

Unmarried Shumaila Rana is daughter of Hidayat Ali, and she climbed the ladder of becoming an MPA by virtue of her mother Anjum Ara’s services to the party, as the latter has been worker of the party for about two decades. Anjum Rana, a retired schoolteacher of a private institute, was not a graduate, and after her successful canvassing for her daughter, a reserved seat was given to Shumaila Rana, who is said to be in her mid-20s. She is the first MPA from this family, and has nothing tangible to her credit for which she should have been given the slot. MPA with humble family background, she has been a vociferous supporter of women rights, and their empowerment. She had also promised to lobby for the charter of demands presented by women farmers recently.

66 responses to “The Strange Case of Shumaila Rana: MPA Arrested for Credit Card Theft”

  1. noor ahmed says:

    They born due to corruption, grown up in corruption and live in corruption. Its usual for the politician of Pakistan. But the problem is that they havent improved their information. Now a days corruption,robbery, fraud and kick backs cannot be hidden. Just google “zardari Corruption” and there will be thousands of web sites.

  2. Atif Hafeez says:

    Hello

    I am always against shopping with credit cards. Now a days it’s a common factor all over the world to take false advantages with your card. I found a website http://www.symbios.pk which is doing business without credit cards. You order and pay at your door step when item or product reached there.
    I recommend all of you to visit http://www.symbios.pk.

    Atif Hafeez

  3. Saeed Iqbal says:

    I think majority of the politicians are shameless people and keep ripping the country again and again. And same goes for their followers. They have different standards to themselves and different standars for their party workers and general public. Totally dishonest and shamless people. You should name Pakistan to Haramistan.

  4. Honky Donks says:

    Dear all

    It is clear to me that the law is not equal for everyone in Pakistan and most of us accept this as the way things are.

    I am amazed at some of the comments coming in support of this MPA. I wonder if this would still be the case if she was not a MPA of a major political party who did not have a standby candidate ready and so her departure would reduce their strength in the provincial candidate.

    The police refused to lodge an FIR till the press broke the story and showed the CCTV footage (more than 5 days later). Even then some of the comments suggest that the CCTV of the shop that got swindled could be doctored electronically by some malicious persons (I wonder why that is not suggested as a defence for criminals caught on tape in other civilized countries). Some of them ask us to forgive her since she is someones daughter, female etc (is this not true for all female criminals).

    We need to get ourselves out of this elitist NRO two class culture we are going to get our country back on the track of progress. We cant do that being the most corrupt (or the 2nd most corrupt) country in the world. We need to agree that we will have a merit based society that treats everyone equal even MPAs. Wake up guys, just get on the net and see what people are saying about Pakistan.

  5. According to a new item in The News:

    Punjab Assembly Acting Speaker Rana Mashood has accepted the resignation of PML-N MPA Shumaila Rana, who was accused of stealing a credit card.

    Addressing a press conference, Rana Mashood said Shumaila tendered her resignation to him on Friday night which was accepted on Saturday.

    He said Shumaila, along with her mother, came to his residence on Friday night and tendered her resignation to him. He said he received her resignation after getting assurance from the assembly secretariat that he could receive the resignation at his residence.

    He said after Shumaila

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*