THIS is Glasgow councillor Jahangir Hanif caught on camera firing a deadly Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle at a military-style camp in Pakistan.

THIS is Glasgow councillor Jahangir Hanif caught on camera firing a deadly Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle at a military-style camp in Pakistan.

The 46-year-old SNP councillor, who was last month reported to be a slum landlord, took five of his six children - including his five-year-old daughter - to learn how to fire the weapon in mountains in the Kashmir border.

Councillor Hanif's 17-year-old daughter, Noor, told the Evening Times how she and her siblings were taken in a blacked-out van to a training base by the millionaire councillor for Govanhill who has campaigned against crime in the community.

A chilling video, seen by the Evening Times, shows Mr Hanif shooting the powerful weapon, which is capable of firing 600 rounds a minute.

Noor says she fired the gun, while her sisters and brothers were also encouraged to use the weapon.

Mr Hanif's youngest daughter Sana, just five at the time, is seen being helped to fire the gun.

Hanif suspended by SNP

SNP councillor Jahangir Hanif was suspended today after the Evening Times revealed he was caught on video firing a Kalashnikov assault rifle in Pakistan.

Mr Hanif, 46, a businessman in Glasgow, will now face a disciplinary hearing.

Today, the party described his actions as "foolish and inappropriate".

Mr Hanif made the trip in 2005 along with five of his children.

An SNP spokesman said the councillor would be given the chance to explain his actions.

He added: "Cllr Hanif is currently in Pakistan, and has not had the opportunity to put his side of the story.

"On the face of it he has not broken the law, and there is no suggestion of any involvement in anything untoward.

"Nevertheless, this was very foolish and inappropriate conduct.

"He is well aware of the SNP's strong views against firearms, particularly involving children.

"Cllr Hanif has this afternoon been suspended from the party, and therefore the council group, pending a disciplinary hearing where he will have the opportunity to explain himself and this incident from 2005.

"Given this action, it would be inappropriate to comment further."

In a statement issued by the party, Mr Hanif said: "I regret that this happened and apologise - it was foolish and inappropriate.

"It took place over two-and-a-half years ago, long before I became a councillor.

"I accept the actions of the party, and will wish to take part in the formal hearing on my return to Scotland."

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Bill Aitken said he has written to First Minister Alex Salmond demanding that he take action against Mr Hanif whose behaviour he describes as "absolutely appalling".

He said: "At a time when every right thinking politician is concerned about the levels of violence and gun crime this man is training his children in how to use a deadly assault rifle.

"Why was he doing this? This sends out the worst possible message and to my mind renders councillor Hanif quite unsuitable to hold elected public office.

"Mr Salmond needs to take decisive action or his own credibility will be very much under question."

His son Ameer, now 14, also shot with the Russian-made AK-47 as did daughters Zainab, 13, and Amina, 10.

Ameer also claims he was taken to a shop which sold grenades, guns and knives during the trip.

The councillor says his children were interested in learning how to use the weapon.

Noor, a grade A student hoping to study medicine at Cambridge, said the gun trip took place during a family holiday to Pakistan to visit relatives.

The children were told they were going on a day trip near Peshwar, while their mother Naushin went shopping with another daughter Huma, now 15.

Noor, of Newton Mearns, said: "We were taken in a van with blacked-out windows.

"We were shown how to use the gun. We were shooting into the mountains.

"We all shot the gun. Someone helped Sana.

"I wasn't happy about it."

She added: "We didn't know why we were being taken there.

"I don't know who the men were. They weren't wearing uniform."

The children's mother, Naushin, was said to be furious when she discovered that her husband had taken the children to the camp, shortly before Christmas in 2005.

The 38-year-old is in the middle of divorce proceedings from Hanif after being in the arranged marriage for 18 years. The couple split not long after the trip.

Noor said she, Huma, Ameer and Zainab hadn't seen their father for two years.

The youngest children, Amina and Sana, now eight, see their father through a mediation service.

The family say they are being forced to sell their luxury home in Newton Mearns because they can't afford to pay the bills.

Mr Hanif rakes in thousands of pounds from dozens of flats he owns in Glasgow and overseas.

His wife says that he has aspirations to rise through the ranks of the SNP which has 22 councillors on Glasgow City Council.

The councillor lives above his constituency offices in Cathcart.

The disturbing gun images will come as a huge embarrassment to the SNP, which has been riding high following its victory in the Glasgow East by-election.

A spokeswoman for the party said: "We are making urgent inquiries of Councillor Hanif about the authenticity, background and context of the video."

When contacted by the Evening Times in Pakistan about the video, Councillor's Hanif's first reaction was "What?" and the line went dead.

When we called him back, he said: "The children were interested in it. I took them to a place in the mountains where you can fire AK-47s.

"It's not illegal in Pakistan. People in Glasgow have shotguns. I wouldn't give them (the children) a pistol. I don't think all the children fired it."

Last month, it was claimed Mr Hanif was renting out flats kept in slum-like conditions - despite campaigning against rogue landlords in his ward.

It was alleged he pocketed £500-a-month for a two-bedroomed flat from a family of Romanians in Westmore-land Street, Govanhill, an area considered so bad that locals have nicknamed it "Ground Zero".

The Evening Times revealed Mr Hanif is also facing court action over a flood hit-flat.

Stewart Daniels has launched a legal fight against the SNP councillor to claw back thousands of pounds he has spent repairing water damage to his home.

Mr Daniels, 61, lives below a flat the councillor rents out in Pollokshields.

TIMESFILE

  • THE AK-47 is the world's most popular assault rifle and has been in production for more than 60 years.
  • It is known as the Kalashnikov, after its Russian inventor, Lieutenant General Mikhail Kalashnikov.
  • The weapon is known for its ease of use and is renowned for working as well in sub-zero conditions as in the deserts and jungles of Africa, where its use has been highlighted by shocking pictures of children using the gun in numerous civil wars.
  • It is estimated there are 50million to 70m of the weapons worldwide.
  • AKs, also used by the IRA during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, are used by half the world's armies, but a recent report showed it is the world's worst regulated weapon.
  • Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms say the weapons often fall into the wrong hands.
  • The worst abuse has been in Afghanistan, where the weapons have been supplied over the past 30 years in their hundreds of thousands by the former Soviet Union, America, Pakistan, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia and others, to militias and warlords.