KARACHI, April 1: An additional district and sessions judge, East, Syed Kauser Ali Shah Bukhari, acquitted two leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in two cases, pertaining to arsoning.
The judge exonerated Dr. Farooq Sattar, a former mayor of Karachi, and Kunwar Khalid Younus, a former member of the National Assembly, from all charges for want of incriminating evidence against the accused persons.
Both the cases, in which other Muttahida men including party chief Altaf Hussain were also booked, were registered on March 27, 1994 by the Zaman Town and Jamshed Qaurter police respectively.
The first case, registered under sections 147, 148, 149, 436, 427, 109 and 120-B of the Pakistan Penal Code and section 14 of the Enforcement of Hudood Ordinance by the Jamshed Qaurter police, pertained to setting a branch of the Muslim Commercial Bank on fire and resorting to indiscriminate firing.
Besides Altaf Hussain, those declared absconders in this case included Dr Sagheer Ansari, Waseem Ahmed, Haroon Siddiqui, Khalid Commando, Tariq, Qadir Muhammed Salim and Arif.
The second case against the Muttahida men was registered by the Zaman Town police for torching a minibus.
Those declared absconders in this case included Altaf Hussain, Haroon Siddiqui, Muhammed Hussain, Zubair, Pervaiz and Zafar Iqbal.
This was 83rd case in which Kunwar Khalid Younus was acquitted. Still, 10 more cases are pending against him.
CONVICTED: An Anti-terrorism court sentenced a man to a seven-year term for snatching a taxi at gunpoint.
