KARACHI, Aug 6: A sessions court reserved on Monday its order on an application filed by the complainant party seeking transfer of the murder case of five members of a family to an anti-terrorism court.

Mohammad Ishaq, a former driver of the murdered family, has been booked for stabbing Arif Yousaf, 68, his wife Zainab Bibi, 60, their son Zubair Arif, 30, and his wife Aliya, 30, and their 14-year-old daughter Rida to death in their Askari III home within the remit of the Saddar police station on Feb 29.

The additional district and sessions judge (south), Javed Ahmed Keerio, who is conducting the trial in the judicial complex (central prison), reserved the order after hearing arguments from both sides for pronouncement till Tuesday.

The applicant’s lawyer contended that all family members, including the 14-year-old girl, were brutally murdered which created terror, fear and insecurity among the people, and thus the crime fell within the ambit of the Anti-terrorism Act 1997.

However, he submitted that the investigating officer had not inserted Section 7 of the ATA and wrongly submitted the case in a regular court, and he prayed to shift the case to an anti-terrorism court for trial.

The public prosecutor opposed the plea and argued that the accused broke into the house to rob it, but he killed the occupants when they put up resistance.

He maintained that it was a simple robbery-cum-murder case and did not attract the ATA, and requested the court to indict the suspect and begin trial.

The defence counsel also supported the arguments of the prosecutor. A case (FIR 62/12) was registered under Section 302 (punishment for premeditated murder) and 397 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Syed Umar Bin Sagheer, a relative of the killed family.

The police apprehended the suspect on March 7 and claimed to have recovered the crime weapons and stolen articles on a lead given by the suspect, who also recorded his confessional statement before a magistrate.

Lawyers hail SC contempt law judgment The legal fraternity lauded on Monday the Supreme Court for striking down the controversial amendments recently made to the contempt of court law and announced that they would observe a ‘thanksgiving day’ on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference held in the office of the Karachi Bar Association at the city courts, KBA president Mahmoodul Hasan along with KBA office-bearers described the SC judgment as historic and criticised the government for using “illegal and unconstitutional tactics” to protect President Asif Ali Zardari.

The lawyers vowed that the legal fraternity would defend the independence of the judiciary.

On a call of the lawyers’ national coordination council, they said, a ‘thanksgiving day’ would be observed on Wednesday across the country, adding that the weekly strike call was being withdrawn since the apex court had declared the amendments illegal.

They also strongly condemned PPP Senator Faisal Raza Abidi’s press conference against the judiciary and sought legal action against him.