ISLAMABAD: A constitutional petition was filed on Thursday in the Supreme Court against officials of the Punjab Rangers for illegally occupying a centre for the welfare of mentally retarded and physically handicapped children.

In her petition under the Article 184(3) of the Constitution, the President of the Life Welfare Society, Lahore, Attia Ahmed Khan, prayed the apex court to get the centre vacated from Rangers.

The petitioner has made the Federation of Pakistan, the Government of Punjab, the Director-General of Lahore Rangers, Brig Qaisar Tareen, Col Ghulam Jaffar and Col Tariq Sheikh of Pakistan Rangers and Nazim UC 57, Lahore, Malik Shaukat as respondents. She stated that she and her husband Dr Ejaz Ahmad were running a registered welfare

centre, consisting of 8-kanal of land allotted by the Lahore Development Authority for mentally retarded and physically handicapped children where 50 children were residing permanently, while 120 children were getting vocational training.

She said that in 2001, the then director-general Punjab Rangers, General Zarar Azim, started paying Rs 15,000 per month to the centre for its improvement, which was later carried on by General Hussain Mehdi.

Later, she said, some high-ranking officials of the Punjab Rangers, including both the director-generals as well as Brig Qaisar Tareen, Col Ghulam Jaffar and Col Tariq Sheikh, with the connivance of UC-57 Tajpura, Lahore, Nazim Malik Shaukat, opened an account with the ABN Amro Bank in Defence, Lahore, in the name of Life Welfare Society and misappropriated Rs 50 million.

She stated that when she and her husband, along with disabled students, staged a protest outside the Lahore Press Club and approached the police, the Rangers officials got cases registered against them and threatened them with dire consequences. She said later the officials occupied the centre and threw them as well as the children out.