A Karachi court directed on Friday the National Database and Registration Authority's (Nadra) Sindh director to block the national identity card of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MPA Malik Shehzad Awan and other suspects absconding in a case pertaining to the alleged torture of a citizen.

       Judicial magistrate (West) Asif Raza Meer issued the directive, further instructing the Nadra official to submit a compliance report at the next hearing. He also directed police to arrest the suspects.

       At the previous hearing, Investigation Officer (IO) Inspector Jahanzeb had filed an investigation report before the magistrate, which implicated the PTI lawmaker, two named suspects — Imran Shah and Qaiser — and three unidentified suspects for trespassing a citizen's house in Karachi, committing theft and torturing the citizen.

       A case against the suspects had been registered under sections 452 (trespassing a house after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 506-B (criminal intimidation) 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to commit the theft) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

       According to the IO's report, the complainant, Muhammad Aslam Awan, had accused the PTI MPA, along with the other suspects, of trespassing his house in Baldia Town's Mianwali Para on July 2, 2019.

       The report said the complainant was asleep at his home at the time of the incident and that the suspects had hit his son with a Kalashnikov's butt, breaking the fingers of his right hand. It added that Muhammad woke up due to the ruckus, following which MPA Malik told him to withdraw an application that the complainant had filed against the lawmaker at Mauripur police station.

       MPA Malik allegedly also stole a cheque from Muhammad's house before leaving in a car, according to the report. It said that while leaving, the PTI lawmaker threatened Muhammad of getting him killed and booked in false cases if he didn't fulfil his demand.

       The IO said in the report that he had visited the place of the incident, recorded the statements of eyewitnesses and collected material evidence, which proved that MPA Malik, Imran Shah, Qaiser and three others had committed the offences they had been accused of.

       Upon his request, the magistrate had accepted the charge sheet at the last hearing.