KARACHI, Jan 10: An anti-terrorism court reserved on Friday judgment in the Zuhair Akram Nadeem murder case against three workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
Judge Feroze Mehmood Bhatti of the ATC-2 fixed Jan 20 for the announcement of judgment after hearing final arguments from the prosecution and the defence.
Sabir Ali, a junior to Shoaib Ahmed Bukhari, placed before the court written arguments in defence of accused Dilawar alias Khan Sahib, Aslam alias Nak Chapta and Jahangir alias Kancha.
The three Muttahida workers had earlier been sentenced to death on April 30, 1999 by then special court for suppression of terrorist activities (STA). The court, however, had acquitted another Muttahida worker, Arif alias Burger, in the case for want of incriminating evidence against him.
Later, on July 1, 1999 the convicts filed an appeal in the Sindh High Court against the trial court judgment. The SHC, however, dismissed their appeal and upheld the sentence.
They then moved the Supreme Court, which remanded the case on May 22, 2002 back to the ATC for retrial from the stage of recording of statements of the accused.
Special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum appeared on behalf of the state.
According to the prosecution, the Muttahida workers shot dead former MNA Zuhair Akram Nadim on July 4, 1998 in Orangi Town a little after noon on Plot No 4/18, Lane No 2, Sector 7-E, Orangi Town, where he was inspecting the construction work of his building.
The prosecution had examined a total of 11 witnesses in the then military court, which had also sentenced the accused to death.
LAHORI INDICTED: The ATC-5, headed by Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch, indicted the chief of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and two other activists in a sectarian murder case.
Akram Lahori, Mohammed Azam and Ataullah, however, denied the charges and pleaded not guilty.
The three accused sought time from the court for engaging defence counsel of their own choice as the judge read out the charges to them in the recently set up courtroom at the Juvenile Jail on the premises of the Central Prison.
The judge, who has already ordered the appointment of a pauper advocate for the accused, rejected their request. Fixing the hearing for Jan 13, the judge told the accused that they might engage counsel of their own choice by the next date of hearing.
The case pertained to the target killing of Dr Syed Aley Safdar Zaidi of the Kidney Centre on March 4, 2002.
The doctor was on his way to the hospital from his Gizri residence when two motorcyclists opened fire on his car (ABU-495) when he stopped at a signal near Sultan Masjid. He died on the spot.
The Gizri police had registered the case initially against two unknown assailants on the complaint of Syed Razi Haider Zaidi, a cousin of the deceased.
According to the final chargesheet, the accused during interrogation confessed to have committed the murder of the doctor as he belonged to a rival sect.
