KARACHI, Sept 27: An additional district and sessions judge, Central, Ahmed Nawaz Shaikh, acquitted on Friday six workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in a case pertaining to defiling and burning of the national flag.
Acquitting Wamiq Ateeq, Shahnawaz, Mairajul Haq, Sohail Khan, Syed Rizwan and Nadimul Hasan of the charge, the judge observed that the investigation officer had not challaned the actual accused, who were still absconding.
The case against the Muttahida workers was registered on March 15, 1998 by the then SHO of Jauharabad police station, Anees Ahmed Khan, who was also the investigation officer of the case.
The accused were booked under section 123-B of the PPC, which reads: “Whoever deliberately defiles or puts on fire the National Flag of Pakistan, or unauthorisedly removes it from any building, premises, vehicle or other property of Government, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three year, or with fine, or with both.”
Two other workers, Nabeel and Hakeem, were shown as absconders in the final charge-sheet submitted by the investigation officer.
The judge, who had earlier declared the two absconders proclaimed offenders, ordered that the case against the absconders be kept on dormant file till their arrest.
CUSTODY: The judicial magistrate, East, Pervaizul Qadir Memon, remanded a local lawyer, booked in a forgery case, in judicial custody till Oct 1.
Shakir Nawaz Chaudhry, advocate, was arrested by the Gulistan-i-Jauhar police for allegedly defrauding a nurse of Rs400,000.
The lawyer has been acquitted in as many as 15 criminal cases by different courts. He remained in jail for more than two years during the pendency of trial, and he was recently bailed out.
