KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Friday sentenced a suspected militant to death in a case pertaining to the murder of two policemen.

Shah Faisal alias Faisal Mehsud, said to be associated with banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, was found guilty of killing head constable Nadeem Abbasi and constable Mohammad Sajid in Manghopir in March 2012.

The accused stood calm and composed as the judge of anti-terrorism court-II, who conducted the trial, read out the conviction order after recording evidence of witnesses and final arguments from both sides. The court also directed the convict to pay Rs100,000 each to the legal heirs of slain policemen.

The verdict said that the prosecution examined three eyewitnesses and they deposed against the accused and identified them before the trial court while two of them had also rightly picked out the accused before a magistrate during an identification parade.

The evidence of witnesses remained unshakable on material points and the same was corroborated by the documentary evidence, it said, adding that the recovery of a weapon, which belonged to one of the deceased, from the accused strengthened the prosecution case.

The court also sentenced the accused to seven years in prison in the illicit weapon case.

According to the prosecution, the accused along with his absconding accomplice Mohammad Yasin Khan alias Haji had gunned down the policemen on March 3 in a locality of Manghopir and also taken away their official weapons.

The victims were posted at the Taimuria police station. Yasin Khan was arrested on June 2, 2013, but he managed to escape from the lock-up of the Taimuria police station after a couple of weeks while Shah Faisal was arrested in July 2012 and the police found official pistol of one of the slain policemen in this custody, it added.

A case (FIR No 42/2012) was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 392 (robbery), 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act 1997 at the Manghopir police station. The accused was also booked under Section 13-D of the Arms Ordinance.

After the pronouncement of the judgement, the court remanded the convict, who was in custody, back to the prison along with the conviction warrant while ruling that the capital punishment was subjected to the confirmation of the high court.