24 April 2004	Saturday	03 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, April 23: The police submitted final charge-sheet in a murder-cum-kidnapping case against Afaq Ahmed, chairman of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, and others in the court of a judicial magistrate.

The MQM Haqiqi chief was brought to the court of Judicial Magistrate Pervaizul Qadir Memon around 9:15am amid tight security. The magistrate fixed May 6 for the next hearing. Besides Afaq Ahmed, party's general secretary Aamir Khan and workers Riyaz Uddin alias Babu and Mustafa Zahid alias Taifi have been shown arrested in the charge-sheet.

Nine other Haqiqi workers - Shahzad alias Puppu, Tariq Nizam, Rashid, Ijaz alias Babu, Raees Ahmed alias Rasees Topi, Mohammed Zubair alias Zubair Chota, Naveed alias Bhoora and Zubair Ahmed alias Zubair Kala - have been shown absconders.

The prosecution also provided statements of 12, out of total 22 prosecution witnesses, cited in the charge-sheet to Afaq Ahmed. According to the charge-sheet, the case against the Haqiqi leaders and activists was registered on the complaint of Ismail Qureshi.

The complainant alleged that the accused kidnapped his son, Farooq and six others in March 1992 and kept them at party's unit-83, Mohajir Khel, and at the residence of Afaq Ahmed. He alleged that the kidnappers killed his son and injured Ataullah and Anver.

It was alleged that the Haqiqi men kidnapped the victims to force them to quit Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Later, the police produced Afaq Ahmed and another Haqiqi leader, Iqbal Qureshi, before the additional district and sessions judge, East, Abdul Malick, in a murder case.

The case (FIR No. 553/92) was registered on Sept 10, 1992, by the Korangi police under Sections 302, 324, 114, 115, 109 and 34 of Pakistan Penal Code. As many as 25 accused, including Altaf Hussain, Afaq Ahmed, Iqbal Qureshi, Shoaib Bukhari, Ajmal Dehlvi, Shaikh Liaquat Hussain, Nasreen Jalil, Badar Iqbal, Asif Hafeez, Javed Akhtar, Irfan, Adil Dakait, Mohammed Hussain, Zahid Ali alias Zahid Anda, Salim Shaukat, Adil Dakait and Abdur Rahman alias Guddo were named in the FIR.

The prosecution supplied Afaq Ahmed and Iqbal Qureshi with the copies of the statements of prosecution witnesses. The judge fixed May 6 for the indictment of the accused.