KARACHI, Oct 29: The defence counsel for the deputy chief of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi on Tuesday challenged the jurisdiction of the anti-terrorism court in another bomb blast case against his client.
Judge Feroze Mehmood Bhatti, who had earlier transferred a bomb blast case against the chief and deputy chief of the banned outfit to an ordinary court, issued notices to the special public prosecutor and the defence counsel for making arguments on the transfer application on Oct 31.
The case pertained to a bomb blast on January 1 at the parking lot of the Marina Club in the Gizri police limits. Nine people were wounded and 11 vehicles damaged in the blast.
At the outset of the hearing around 10:15am, Abdul Wahid Katpur submitted his application, praying the court to transfer the case to the ordinary court as the public prosecutor sought the court’s permission to examine the prosecution witnesses.
The defence counsel, however, opposed the examination of the prosecution witness until the court decided his application for the transfer of the case.
The judge adjourned the matter till the next hearing of the case.
CONVICTED: The special anti-narcotics court, headed by Judge Ali Nawaz Pirzada, sentenced two women and a man, all from African countries, to different terms of rigorous imprisonment for attempting to smuggle out contraband heroin.
The women, both South Africans, were sentenced to suffer RI for two and half
years and pay a fine of Rs50,000 each.
Miss Zukisa, 25, was arrested on June 9 at Quaid-i-Azam International Airport by the customs authorities. The woman, who was carrying 480 grams heroin in her body, excreted 40 drug-filled capsules in the Jinnah Hospital.
Mrs Boabale Traora, arrested on June 28, was found carrying 440 grams contraband drug, stuffed in 38 capsules.
The judge sentenced a Tanzanian national to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 18 months.
Omar Hasan Omar, arrested at the airport on July 4, was carrying 200 grams heroin, stuffed in 16 capsules. He was also fined Rs25,000.
The judge also ordered that the defaulter on the payment of fine would have to undergo an additional three-month term.
