KARACHI: Counsel for Harkat activists appointed: Car-bombing case
KARACHI, June 1: The Sindh High Court on Thursday appointed a counsel for two activists of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Alami in US Consulate car bombing case on state expenses to pursue their appeals, which have been filed against their conviction.
Mohammad Imran and Hanif were sentenced to death while Sharib Arsalan Farooqui and Hafiz Zubair were sentenced to life imprisonment by an anti-terrorism court in Karachi on April 14, 2003, for killing 12 people and injuring 43 others in car bombing outside US Consulate in June 2002.
As the matter was taken up before SHC's division bench, comprising Justice Zia Pervaiz and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, the court was told by Raza Ali Abidi, counsel of convicts Mohammad Imran and Hafiz Zubair, that he has left the legal profession and the appeal of appellants was pending due to non-representation by their counsel.
Assistant Advocate General Sindh Habib Ahmed requested that counsel be appointed to appellants on state expenses so that appeals could be heard and decided.
The court observed that despite repeated directives the appellants have not appointed counsel to pursue their case, and ordered that Maqboolur Rehman be appointed as their counsel on state expenses.
Maqboolur Rehman was also representing Sharib Arsalan Farooqui in an appeal while Abdul Waheed Katpar was appearing for Mohammad Hanif. The next hearing has been adjourned for Aug 16.
REMANDED: Administrative judge of anti terrorism courts in Karachi Thursday remanded two suspects, including a policeman, to police custody till June 5 in a kidnapping for ransom case.
Adeel Mansoor and ex-police head constable Khatibur Rehman were arrested by the Nazimabad police on May 30 on a complaint of Najm Tariq, a trader, who alleged that his nephew Adeel, in connivance of other co-accused, kidnapped him and received Rs25 million as ransom.
The accused were produced before AJ Justice Khliji Arif Hussain of Sindh High Court for obtaining their remand. Two co-accused Syed Amir and Arsalan are still at large.
According to the police, complainant lodged an FIR stating that his nephew called him at his medical store near Baqai hospital, Nazimabad, for meeting some doctors on April 6.
BAIL ADMITTED: An appellate bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) for Accountability Courts at Karachi on Thursday admitted five accused to bail, including two accused in two cases of alleged corruption and corrupt practices.
Khuda Bux and Liaquat Ali Arain are facing two cases while the remaining applicants, Tariq Nazir, Abdul Karim and Mohammad Hanif, are facing one case of alleged purchase of material for Wapda power house at Guddu at an exorbitant price and thus causing a loss to the government. The bench, after hearing the counsel for both sides, admitted the accused to bail against a solvent surety of Rs700,000 each.
FIR quashed: Justice Mohammad Moosa K Laghari of Sindh High Court on Thursday invoking the inherent jurisdiction vested under section 561 of CrPC quashed FIR against four women and two men, arrested under prostitution charges, and ordered their release if not involved in other cases.
The court, after hearing the case, observed that the investigation was conducted in flagrant violation of Section 156-B CrPC as there was no iota of evidence of whatsoever nature to connect the applicants with the commission of offence punishable under the Zina (Enforcement of Hudood Ordinance) 1979.
The court observed that complainant police officer entered into premises without search warrants and without co-opting any respectable person of the locality.
Terming the entire proceedings illegal and tantamount to abuse of the process of law, Justice Laghari observed that the same could not be allowed to continue.
The court observed that in order to secure ends of justice, it is a fit case to exercise inherit jurisdiction.—APP/PPI
