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KARACHI, Nov 15: An anti-terrorism court sentenced on Saturday the chief of banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Akram Lahori, and his three associates to death in a sectarian murder case.
Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5, who conducted the trial inside the Juvennile Prison, also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 each on the four convicts. The defaulter on the payment will suffer a one-year term.
LJ chief Akram Lahori, Ataullah, Muhammed Azam and Malik Tassaduq, were found guilty of having killed Seth Ramzan Ali, owner of Pak Iranian Tea Company, at his outlet in Saddar on February 11, last year. Ehsan Ali, employed at the tea company, and Muhammed Firdous, a customer, were also injured in the attack. One of the attackers also hurled an explosive device, which devastated the victim’s shop.
The judge sentenced Muhammed Azam to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life for hurling the explosive in the shop. The judge also ordered the confiscation of the entire movable and immovable properties of the convict.
Besides, the judge sentenced Ataullah to suffer a three-year term for injuring Firdous and two-year term for injuring Ehsan.
The special public prosecutor, Mazhar Qayyum, examined in all 16 prosecution witnesses, who included two injured eye-witnesses.
The two injured victims identified the accused persons before the court while recording their depositions. PW Firdous, who had a tea stall in Saddar, had come to the shop to buy tea leaves.
Besides, the ballistic report also suggested that the empties found from the spot matched with the weapons seized from the accused persons.
The prosecutor had sought capital punishment for the accused, who were found guilty of having committed murder due to sectarian hatred.
JUDGMENT DEFERRED: The administrative judge of the accountability courts in Karachi, Mrs Qaiser Iqbal, deferred till Nov 22 the pronouncement of judgment in a corruption reference against former navy chief Mansoorul Haq and another ex- navy official.
The judgment was deferred as the trial judge, Parkash Lal Ambwani of the AC-4, did not turn up. The court staff said the judge was on leave.
Judge Ambwani had fixed November 15 for pronouncement of judgement after hearing the final arguments form the defence and the prosecution on October 28.
The former navy chief and Commodore (Rtd) Mirza Ashfaq Baig have been prosecuted for causing over Rs1.8 billion loss to the national exchequer in the purchase of three vessels for the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.
According to the prosecution, Mansoorul Haq with criminal intent to obtain undue benefits got an approval for the purchase of ships for the PNSC in 1994 from the then government.
When he was appointed chief of naval staff, he allegedly hatched a conspiracy with absconding accused Rear Admiral (Retd) Javed Ali and co-accused Ashfaq Baig for the purchase of the ships on exorbitant prices.
The naval officials were charged for violating the laid down procedure, terms of approval and purchasing the ships which were not technically suitable.
It was further alleged that the purchase of the ships was against the selection criteria of the Board of Directors and without consideration of the classification record of the ships, payment of customs and other duties.
The ships were Apolonia, purchased for $14.82 million and later renamed as Sawat, Ora Bhum for $15.55 million (Shalamar) and Independent Voyager for $16.77 million.
The accused, allegedly in collusion, connivance and collaboration with each other, and absconding accused Javed Ali, fraudulently misused official authority to obtain undue benefits.
