RAWALPINDI, June 25: The anti-terrorism court-II here on Saturday acquitted an accused arrested in the assassination case of former federal minister Shahbaz Bhatti due to lack of evidence.

The investigation team of Islamabad police presented Hafiz Nazar Mohammad before the ATC judge, Pervaiz Ali Shah, after completion of his five-day physical remand and sought eight more days to further interrogate him. However, the judge asked the police to present the details of findings of interrogations made during the five days.

At this, the police said they had failed to find any link between the accused and the killers of the former minister.

The court rejected the police request for extension in physical remand of the accused and acquitted him, observing there was no evidence against the accused to prove his involvement, so the court removes his name from the case.

The I-9 police had arrested Hafiz Nazar on June 19 after tracing him through his cellphone. The police informed the court during the last hearing that the accused had called the relatives of Mr Bhatti and claimed that he knew his assassins.—A Reporter