KARACHI: An antiterrorism court asked on Saturday the police to initiate proceedings of proclamation and attachment of property against Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain in a case pertaining to criminal intimidation.

The self-exiled MQM leader was booked for allegedly threatening Rangers officials during a TV talk show following a pre-dawn raid on his party headquarters, Nine Zero, in Azizabad, on March 11.

The police chargesheeted Mr Hussain under Section 512 (record of evidence in absence of accused) of the criminal procedure code and showed him an absconder in the investigation report.

Subsequently, the court twice issued non-bailable warrant for the arrest of the MQM chief. However, the investigating officer submitted a report during the hearing on Saturday saying that the warrants could not be executed since Mr Hussain had left the country in 1992 and had since been residing in London.

ATC-III Judge Saleem Raza Baloch asked the IO to start proceedings against the absconding accused under Sections 87 (proclamation for persons absconding) and 88 (attachment of property of person absconding) of the criminal procedure code and submit the report till Sept 22.

According to the charge sheet, the paramilitary force raided the MQM headquarters and surrounding areas and arrested several criminals and suspects along with a huge quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives during the raid.

It contended that on the evening of March 11, the MQM chief during the TV talk show allegedly hurled threats at the Rangers officials, who took part in the raid at his party headquarters.

A case was registered against the MQM chief under Section 506-B (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, on the complaint of Colonel Tahir at the Civil Lines police station.

Report on Safoora bus carnage sought

Another antiterrorism court asked on Saturday the police to submit the final investigation report in the Safoora Goth bus carnage case till Sept 19.

Tahir Hussain Minhas, alias Sain; Saad Aziz, alias Tin Tin; Asad-ur-Rehman, alias Malik; Hafiz Nasir, alias Yasir and Mohammed Azhar Ishrat, alias Majid, have been booked for their alleged involvement in the killing of 45 people, including 18 women, of the Shia Ismaili community in an armed attack on their bus near Safoora Goth on May 13.

The investigating officer had submitted an interim charge sheet in court on Aug 20 and sought time for the final report on the grounds that the reports of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and digital video recorder (DVR) were still awaited.

When the case came up for hearing before ATC-I Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso on Saturday for submission of the final report, the IO sought more time to file the final charge sheet on similar grounds.

While allowing the request, the court granted two weeks and directed the IO to submit the final investigation report till Sept 19.

The police in the interim investigation report had chargesheeted five detained suspects and their 10 accomplices were shown absconders. The report said that the suspects were affiliated with terrorist organisation Al Qaeda and the self-styled Islamic State militant group.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2015

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