KARACHI: An antiterrorism court allowed on Saturday an application of former Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Saleem Shahzad seeking better facilities in prison in a case pertaining to providing shelter and treatment to alleged terrorists.

The former petroleum minister, Dr Asim Hussain, the main accused in the case, has been booked for allegedly treating and harbouring suspected terrorists, political militants and gangsters at his hospitals while Pak Sarzameen Party president Anis Kaimkhani, Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar, MQM-P lawmaker Rauf Siddiqui, PPP’s Abdul Qadir Patel, Usman Moazzam of Pasban and Saleem Shahzad have been named as co-accused for allegedly asking Dr Asim to treat the alleged criminals.

The applicant, who was arrested shortly after he landed at the Karachi airport from Dubai on Feb 6 and sent to prison on the following day, through his lawyer had moved B-class plea and bail applications.

While allowing the plea, the ATC-II judge directed the jail authorities to provide better facilities to the applicant in prison. The bail application of the suspect would be taken up for hearing on Feb 18.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2017