KARACHI: An antiterrorism court issued on Thursday a notice to a prosecutor on a bail application of Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Aamir Khan in a case pertaining to instigating terrorism and harbouring criminals.

The Pakistan Rangers had detained the MQM leader with dozens of other suspects for three-month preventive detention after their arrest during a raid in and around the party headquarters, Nine Zero, in Azizabad on March 11 and recently booked him for allegedly providing shelter to criminals and using them for terrorist activities.

Aamir Khan through his counsel moved a bail application and the judge of ATC-II issued a notice to a special public prosecutor on the application for Friday.

Copies of the prosecution’s documents were also provided to the suspect, a mandatory procedure before indictment, as required under Section 265-C (supply of statements and documents to accused) of the criminal procedure code.

The prosecution said that the paramilitary force had also arrested 26 armed suspects, including Faisal Mehmood alias Mota, who had been sentenced to death by a court in absentia for the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babar, and other wanted and absconding suspects during the March 11 raid.

It further said that the MQM leader was in charge of the party headquarters security and he with five others had allegedly provided shelter to arrested criminals and had been using them for terrorist activities in the city.

A case was registered under Sections 11V (directing terrorist activities), 21J (harbouring any person who committed an offence under this act) and 7 (punishment for act of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 on a complaint of a Rangers official at the Azizabad police station.

Remand in double murder case extended

An antiterrorism court extended on Thursday the physical remand of a suspect in a double murder case till July 5.

Umair Hassan Siddiqui, said to be a worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, has been booked for allegedly killing two tea vendors — Niaz Gul and Iqbal Hussain — in Gulshan-i-Maymar in April 2013.

After the end of his first remand, the police again produced the suspect in court. Special public prosecutor of the Rangers Rana Khalid submitted that the suspect was placed under 90-day preventive detention by the paramilitary force in March and he confessed before a joint investigation team to his alleged involvement in dozens of cases of targeted killing.

The prosecutor sought extension in the physical remand of the suspect for further questioning and arrest of his accomplices.

Defence lawyer Latif Pasha, who is also a member of the MQM legal aid committee, opposed the extension in police custody and contended that the allegations were baseless as the prosecution could not bring out any incriminating evidence against the suspect despite keeping him in detention for three months.

The judge of the ATC-II granted a 10-day extension in the physical remand of the suspect and asked the investigating officer to produce him in court with a progress report on the next hearing.

Meanwhile, another ATC remanded on Thursday the same suspect in police custody for two weeks in a case pertaining to the murder of a paramilitary soldier.

The suspect was accused of killing Rangers personnel Shaukat near the Suparco office within the jurisdiction of the Mobina Town police station in 2010.

Published in Dawn June 26th, 2015

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