09 June 2004	Wednesday	20 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

KARACHI, June 8: An anti-terrorism court sentenced an accused in kidnapping for ransom case to death on Tuesday. Judge Feroze Mehmood Bhatti of the ATC-2 also ordered the confiscation of accused Nayyar Raza's property worth Rs100,000.

The accused was found guilty of having kidnapped Asif Zaidi and demanded Rs2.5 million for his release. Nayyar was arrested after he was tracked down by the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee. The police recovered the victim from a house in Jaffer Tayyar Society on his lead after a shootout.

One of his accomplices was also killed in the shootout with the police during the raid on their hideout. The dead was identified as Chand. Two other accused - Aun Mohammed alias Ooni and Shakir Ali - had fled the scene and they were declared absconders. The state was represented by special public prosecutor Maula Bux Bhatti.

SECTARIAN MURDER: An anti-terrorism court put off the hearing of a double-murder case against two workers of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi after recording the statement of two prosecution witnesses.

Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 fixed Thursday for the next hearing after recording the statements of a medico-legal officer and a judicial magistrate. The case pertained to the murder of a pesh-imam of an imambargah and his son on September 12, 2001. Two LJ men - Ataullah and Mohammed Azam - have been charged with the sectarian killing.

Syed Razi Haider Najafi, the pesh-imam who was also a teacher at a school, and his 15-year-old son Syed Abbas Ali were killed and his youngest son, Syed Mohammed Ali, was injured around 7:45am when the accused, riding a motorbike, opened fire on their car near the Submarine Chowrangi in Gizri.

The PWs - MLO Dr Shahab Junejo and JM Syeda Perveen Shah - were also cross-examined by defence counsel M. R. Syed. Special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum is representing the state.

CORRUPTION REFERENCE: An accountability court put off the hearing of a corruption reference against a former joint secretary of the interior ministry and his wife. Ziaul Islam, also a former commissioner of Karachi, and Kauser Perveen are being prosecuted for amassing wealth and raising assets, worth over Rs40 million, beyond their known and legal means.

Judge Qaiser, who is also administrative judge of all the ACs in Karachi division, recorded the statement of an official of the Defence Housing Authority, who also placed on record of the properties owned by the Islam family. The former secretary is in custody and his wife is on an interim bail granted by the Sindh High Court. The couple are being represented by Ilyas Khan.