April 17, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 10, 1429

KARACHI, April 16: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday deferred the indictment of the former chief minister of Balochistan, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, till May 6 since he was under medical treatment at a hospital.

The former chief minister was facing charges of kidnapping and keeping army personnel hostage on April 5, 2006.

Judge Ahmed Nawaz Shaikh of the ATC-III, who is conducting the trial inside the central prison, had earlier fixed April 16 for framing of charges against the accused. However, the hearing was postponed on the request of the defence counsel, who said his client was unwell and admitted to hospital for medical treatment.

Couple’s murder case

Meanwhile, the additional district and sessions judge, central, Tasneem Sultana, adjourned the hearing of a case pertaining to the murder of a newly-wed couple till April 28 due to the absence of the defence counsel.

Hafiz Shaikh Mohammad Azeem and his bride Beenish were found dead under mysterious circumstances the next morning of their wedding night in their North Nazimabad apartment in Taimuria police limits on August 11, 2007.

The investigation officer had nominated the deceased groom’s father, Shaikh Abdul Majeed, as the main accused in the charge-sheet.

On Jan 11, the court had indicted Shaikh Abdul Majeed on charges of killing the couple. Sources said that both the parties were reluctant to attend the court proceedings for the last two months and were trying to settle the matter out of the court.