KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court indicted on Tuesday a Muttahida Qaumi Movement lawmaker in explosive and illicit weapon cases.

The Rangers had arrested Mohammad Kamran Farooq, a member of the Sindh Assembly, in December in the Garden area for allegedly carrying a hand grenade and an unlicensed pistol.

When the ATC-IX judge read out the charges against him, he pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the cases.

The court summoned the prosecution witnesses to record their evidence on March 7.

The MPA was booked in two cases under Section 4/5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and Section 23(i)(a) of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013 read with Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997 on a complaint of the Rangers at the Nabi Bakhsh police station.

According to the prosecution, the lawmaker in his confessional statement recorded before a judicial magistrate on Dec 31 had not only admitted to have been carrying a grenade and a unlicensed weapon but also disclosed his and other MQM leaders’ involvement in the May 12 mayhem, Tahir Plaza arson attack, China-cutting and other cases.

The MPA in his statement also implicated MQM-Pakistan chief Farooq Sattar as one of the perpetrators behind the May 12 carnage, it added.

Factory fire case to be heard in prison

Jail authorities informed an anti-terrorism court on Tuesday that the trial of the Baldia factory fire case would have to be conducted inside the prison due to security concerns.

Former sector in-charge of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Abdul Rehman, alias Bhola, and Zubair, alias Charya, along with their absconding accomplices have been booked for allegedly setting fire to a multi-storey garment factory in Baldia Town over non-payment of protection money in September 2012.

Over 250 workers were burnt alive in the tragic incident.

When the case came up for hearing before the ATC-II on Tuesday, the superintendent of central prison through a letter informed the court that the home department had notified that the trial of the case be conducted inside prison because of “security concerns”.

He requested the court to fix the hearing inside the prison and intimate the jail authorities so that necessary arrangements could be made accordingly.

The court fixed Feb 25 to conduct the hearing inside the prison.

Murder of Afghan diplomat

A judicial magistrate remanded on Tuesday a security guard to prison in a case pertaining to the murder of an Afghan diplomat.

Hayatullah, an Afghan national and an employee of the Afghan consulate, has been booked for allegedly killing third secretary Mohammad Zaki Abdu over a personal dispute inside the Afghan consulate in Clifton on Feb 6.

After the end of his seven-day physical remand, police produced the suspect before a judicial magistrate (south) who sent him to prison on 14-day judicial remand. The magistrate directed the investigating officer to file investigation report till next hearing.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2017