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52 arrested in raid on club

* One MNA, two MPAs-elect released shortly after raid
* SSP warns of more raids to curb ‘immoral activities’

By Imran Naeem Ahmad and Fazal Sher

ISLAMABAD: Police raided a guesthouse-cum-club in F-10/3 Saturday night leading to the arrest of 52 people including 20 women, some of them foreign nationals, and three MPs-elect.

Police said there had been reports in recent days of the club being used for illegal activities, which was also creating problems for the area residents.

Being a weekend, the club, Cat House, was at its peak activity when a police team headed by Magistrate Muhammad Liaquat Abbasi and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Farhat Abbas Kazmi conducted the raid.

The club owner, Zafar Iqbal Shahid, was also arrested. He was found monitoring from his office the action going on inside the club through a closed-circuit camera.

Judicial Magistrate Hidayatullah granted bail to all the women, including six Chinese nationals, under the Women Protection Bill. Cases against the accused were registered under Sections 371A, 371B, 496 B, 13-20/60 and ¾ of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

MPs released: Prominent among those arrested were an MNA and two MPAs-elect. They were released shortly afterwards by Shalimar police.

Police said they had recovered 44 bottles of imported liquor and 88 bottles of beer besides three guns and ammunition.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Syed Kaleem Imam told Daily Times on Sunday that following complaints from residents, a notice was served on the owner asking him to shut down the club.

“Since he paid no heed to the notice, considering the residents’ problems, we took action,” Imam said, adding that the six Chinese women would now be deported. Earlier, the authorities had deported 13 Chinese women.

More raids: Imam warned of more raids on clubs and places where illicit activities were being carried out. “We have raided such spots in the past and would continue to do so in future,” he said, expressing his resolve to clean up all clubs of such illegal activities. He said the club owner was unlikely to get bail.

Inaugurated by a former state minister, Cat House had a dance floor, a bar and ‘special rooms’ for guests. Police said they had also seized computers and identity cards of several people from the premises.

The residents said that drunken men and women were regularly seen coming out of the club and there were brawls almost every day. “We faced great problems because of this and couldn’t venture out of our homes for an evening stroll,” said Nasir Farooq, a resident.

Another resident, wanting not to be identified, said that loud music and noise coming out of the club had made life troublesome for them. “It used to get worse on weekends,” she pointed out while appreciating the police raid. “They have done well to close down the place but I think the police acted late,” she said.

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