KARACHI: Court orders six Harkat activists’ acquittal
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 17: The Sindh High Court set aside on Friday the conviction of six activists of the banned Harkat Al Mujahidden Al Alami Al Islami in an explosives case and ordered their release if they are not required in any other case.
Abdul Ghani, Khalil Ahmed, Abdul Rauf, Adeel, Irfan and Ausaf were sentenced to life in prison by an additional district and sessions court of district South, Karachi, on June 12 for possessing explosive substances.
They were arrested by the police following raid at a house in Baloch Colony on April 12, 2004.
The prosecution alleged that the appellants were planning acts of terrorism in the city.
The appellants’ counsel, M Ilyas Khan and Mohammad Farooq, argued that the prosecution failed to prove its case against the appellants as there were contradictions in the statements of the witnesses.
They said the material allegedly recovered from them was not examined by a chemical expert.
Justice Mrs Qaiser Iqbal, who heard the appeal, observed that the prosecution could not prove its case against the appellants. She set aside the impugned conviction and sentences.
APPEAL DISMISSED: The Sindh High Court dismissed on Friday appeals moved by two activists of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and maintained the death sentence awarded to them by an anti-terrorism court in a case of sectarian killing.
Attaullah and Mohammad Azam were handed down death sentences by an anti-terrorism court of Karachi on July 6, 2004, for killing Dr Mohammad Raza Peerani in Soldier Bazar area on June 26, 2001.
They challenged their conviction and sentences in the high court and their counsel argued that there were material contradictions and improvements in the testimony of prosecution witnesses and the appellants should have been given the benefit of the doubt.
Contesting the appeals, Assistant Advocate-General Habib Ahmed maintained that the prosecution has proved its case beyond a reasonable shadow doubt and there was no occasion for giving any benefit to the accused.
The testimony of the complainant in the case and other eye-witnesses could not be contradicted by the defence and could sustain the impugned conviction and sentences.
A division bench, comprising Justices Rehmat Hussain Jafri and Mrs Yasmeen Abbasey, dismissed the appeals by a short order and for reasons to be recorded later.
NOTICES ISSUED: Justice Mushir Alam issued notices to two commercial banks in an application claiming that the Corporate and Industrial Restructuring Corporation (CIRC) had ceased to exist under the law.
A debtor concern submitted through Advocate Saalim Salim Ansari that despite the dissolution of CIRC, it was prepared to settle its dispute with the
National Bank and the United Bank in terms of incentive scheme announced by the
State Bank of Pakistan in 2002 and adopted by the corporation.
The applicant contended that the lawyers appearing for the corporation had no locus standi in the matter.
