KARACHI, Dec 3: The pauper advocate, appointed to represent the chief of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Akram Lahori, and others, has told the anti-terrorism court which is trying the case that he is unable to defend the accused due to “unavoidable circumstances.”

Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 had ordered on Nov 21 the appointment of Zahid Rohila pauper advocate for the defence of the workers of the banned sectarian outfit in five sectarian murder cases at state expenses.

The judge ATC-5, who is conducting the trial on the premises of the Central Prison, Karachi, had earlier given final notice to the chief and workers of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi to hire their defence counsel.

Under the law, the accused of an offence involving death punishment must be defended by an advocate during the trial. In case the accused fails to engage a lawyer for his defence, he is provided the services of a defence counsel at state expenses.

Four workers of the Lashkar are accused in more than two dozen sectarian murder cases, and they are being tried by three different ATCs inside the century-old prison. The jail trial was notified by the provincial home department on Aug 13.