[Avoireeideree]

PESHAWAR: Fast bowler Umar Gul was in the news for reasons other than cricket on Tuesday when his house in Peshawar was raided by a team of army commandos and his brother arrested on charges of harbouring a wanted militant.
Gul’s brother, Meraj, was arrested along with two other men on charges of providing shelter to his uncle, Haji Daly, who is believed to be an active member of banned outfit Lashkar-e-Islam.
A local, on the condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that a team of commandos raided the house and arrested two paramedics, Younas and Shakil. The two were then moved to an undisclosed location.
An official of the local police station claimed Haji Daly had been injured in the armed forces’ operation in Bara, and had fled to Peshawar and lived with Meraj for several days before leaving the city.
“The injured man was brought to Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) with two local paramedics who changed his bandages,” he claimed, adding that he left the hospital without his true identity being ascertained.
Reports indicate that the two parademics arrested are the employees of a maternity home located adjacent to Gul’s house. The family owns the maternity home.
When contacted, however, family members declined to comment on the matter. A cousin of Umar confirmed that a raid had been carried out and three people had been arrested.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 30th, 2012.