KARACHI: Police submitted on Tuesday a charge-sheet in an antiterrorism court against Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Aamir Khan in a case of instigating terrorism and harbouring criminals.

The Pakistan Rangers had detained the MQM leader with dozens of other suspects for three months following 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.

The investigating officer, Inspector Mohsin Hasan Zaidi, through a special public prosecutor of Rangers submitted the investigation report in court in which he charge-sheeted Aamir Khan for allegedly instigating terrorism and harbouring criminals.

The IO did not name anyone as absconding accused and placed six officials of Rangers and police as prosecution witnesses in the charge-sheet.

After admitting the investigation report for hearing, the ATC-II judge fixed June 25 for supply of copies of the report 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 paramilitary force had placed the MQM leader with around 60 others under 90-day preventive detention after the raid and informed court that they had credible information about their alleged involvement in offences related to targeted killing and terrorism.

On June 4, the Rangers handed Aamir Khan over to the police after registering a case against him and the following day police got his one-week physical remand. On June 12, court remanded the MQM leader in prison and asked the police to file an investigation report.

According to the prosecution, around 59 suspects, including Aamir Khan, were placed under preventive detention and the paramilitary force had also arrested 26 armed suspects, including Faisal Mehmood alias Mota, who was sentenced to death by a court in absentia for the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babar; Obaid alias K2, who was wanted in many cases; and Noman alias Nomi, an absconder in the Advocate Niamat Ali Randhawa murder case during the March 11 raid.

It alleged that the MQM leader and others admitted during questioning that Aamir Khan was in charge of the party headquarters security and he with Minhaj Qazi, Raees Mama, Shahzad Mullah, Imran Ijaz Niazi and Naeem alias Mullah had allegedly provided shelter to the arrested suspects and had been using them for terrorist activities in the city.

A joint investigation team recommended the registration of a case against the MQM leader and others, the prosecution concluded.

The 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 Rangers Deputy Superintendent Ashraf Hussain at the Azizabad police station.

Rangers detain 11 ST men for three months

Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, informed an antiterrorism court on Tuesday about the 90-day preventive detention of 11 workers of the Sunni Tehreek (ST) for questioning.

Rangers along with their legal team produced Rizwan alias Guddu, Arif Mansoori, Jawad Qadri, Akram alias Kala, Farhan alias Baba, Imran Saeedi, Muhammad Alam, Shakeel alias Fuji, Salman alias Mirchi, Zubair Ali and Noor Alam in the chamber of the judge in charge of the ATC-III, Akhlaq Hussain Larak, amid tight security.

They submitted that the detainees were picked up during a raid on the office of the ST upon receiving credible information about their involvement in targeted killing, extortion and other offences which fall within the ambit of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2015

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