16 December 2004	Thursday	03 Ziqa'ad 1425

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

KARACHI, Dec 15: Amir Khan, secretary general of Mohajir Qaumi Movement, was sentenced on Wednesday to a 10-year term in the murder case of two workers of the rival Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

Three party activists were given life imprisonment, two of them, in absentia.

Judge Feroze Mehmood Bhatti of the ATC-2, who conducted the trial inside the jail, also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the Haqiqi leader for murder of Anum Aziz and Mohammed Naeem on June 23, 2003, in Landhi during the by elections for NA-255. Amir Khan will have to undergo an additional six-month term in case of default on payment.

According to prosecution, five Haqiqi activists, who included Tariq Bata, Kala Nazim and Raees Topi, came on a Charade car and Amir Khan was on a Corolla. The Haqiqi men opened fire on a Hi-roof carrying Muttahida workers. Anum Aziz died instantly and Mohammed Naeem, who was seriously injured, died after two days.

While the Haqiqi leader was already arrested, accused Tariq Bata was later arrested. The leader and the worker were charge-sheeted along with two absconding accused Kala Nazim and Raees Topi.

The absconders were tried in absentia. The judge sentenced three activists to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 25 years for the double murder. They were also ordered to pay a fine of Rs100,000 each.

Another seven-year-term was handed down to the three Haqiqi workers for attempting to kill the driver of their victims' Hi-roof, who also appeared as one of the four eye-witnesses out of total 19 prosecution witnesses. A fine of Rs100,000 each was also imposed on them. The defaulter on the payment would have to undergo an additional six-month term.

The three workers were also sentenced to a two-year term for causing damage to the victims' vehicle. A fine of Rs10,000 each was imposed on them and the defaulter on the payment would have to suffer an additional six-month term.

BLAST CASE: Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 put off hearing of the Masjid Ali Raza bomb blast case against a worker of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi after recording statement of a prosecution witness.

The judge fixed Thursday for the next hearing after statement of PW Shujaul Abbas, who was a witness to the memos of inspection and sketch of the blast site. As many as 25 faithful had been killed and 37 others injured on May 31 this year when a suicide bomber blew himself inside the Masjid Ali Raza, located at the Old Numaish.,

Accused Gul Hasan, arrested on June 13, is stated to have been the mastermind of bomb blasts at Haideri Mosque and Imambargah Ali Raza. He is alleged to have planned the attacks with absconding accused that included Asif Chuto and Mufti Obaid.