KARACHI, Sept 25: An anti-terrorism court adjourned on Wednesday the hearing of a murder case against Akram Lahori, chief of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, and three others as three of them requested the court for time to engage defence lawyers.

Judge Khan Pervaiz Chang of the ATC-4, who is holding the trial inside Central Prison, Karachi, fixed Oct 3 the next date of hearing.

The four Lashkar workers, Akram Lahori, Ataullah, Mohammed Azam and Malik Tassaduq, are being tried for the murder of Mohammed Nazeer on April 7 in the police limits of Rizvia.

When the court asked the accused why they had not yet engaged their counsel, they complained that the jail authorities were not allowing their family members to visit them.

The judge ordered the jail superintendent to ensure the meeting of the accused with their family members so that they could engage lawyers.

A junior to Sarfraz Tanoli, advocate, appeared in the court and filed power of attorney for the defence of accused Tassaduq.

According to special public prosecutor Feroze Mehmood Bhatti, the accused would be provided a pauper advocate on state expense in case they did not engage their defence counsel themselves.

He said the accused would be formally arraigned in the case on the next date of hearing.

REMANDED: Judge Arshad Noor Khan of the ATC-3 remanded Sharib Farooqi and Zubair Mufti, two suspects in the June 14 US consulate carbombing case, in police custody till Oct 2.