KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Friday sentenced a former engineer of Pakistan International Airlines to 10 years’ imprisonment for financing the Safoora Goth bus carnage.

Khalid Yusuf Bari was found guilty of funding the carnage in which 47 Shia Ismaili community members, including eight women, were shot dead in an attack on their bus near Safoora Goth on May 13, 2015.

The ATC-VI judge also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on him and in case of default the convict would have to undergo an additional six months in prison.

According to the prosecution, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of police had arrested Khalid in September 2015 for providing funds to Saad Aziz alias Tin Tin, one of the convicts in the Safoora Goth bus carnage case.

A case was registered against the accused under Section 11-H (fundraising for terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the CTD police station.

The jail authorities produced Khalid before the judge on Friday. Following the pronouncement of the verdict, the court sent him to jail along with conviction warrant to serve out the awarded sentence.

The military court had sentenced Saad Aziz, Tahir Minhas, Asadur Rehman, Mohammad Azhar Ishrat and Hafiz Nasir Ahmed to death in May 2016 in the Safoora Goth carnage and several other cases of terrorism including targeted killing of social activist Sabeen Mahmud.

The military courts had acquitted former Fishermen Cooperative Society vice chairman Sultan Qamar Siddiqui, his brother Hussain Qamar Siddiqui and Sajid Naeem of the charges of facilitating the Safoora Goth carnage.

Nehal Hashmi’s bail extended

Another ATC on Friday extended interim pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Nehal Hashmi in a case pertaining to his controversial speech against judiciary and civil servants.

The disowned PML-N leader was booked for extending threats to the judiciary and members of the joint investigation team, who were then investigating the allegation of money laundering against the Sharif family. His controversial speech went viral on social media and was also aired on news channels on May 28. 

The case was fixed before ATC-I for arguments on the bail application for confirmation or otherwise, but the investigating officer informed the court that the charge-sheet had not been filed yet. He said the administrative judge of ATCs had granted him time in this regard till Aug 9. 

The court extended interim bail to him till Aug 10.

Arif Alvi gets bail

A sessions court on Friday granted interim pre-arrest bail to central leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and member of the National Assembly Dr Arif Alvi in a case pertaining to rioting.

The MNA through his lawyer moved pre-arrest bail application and after a preliminary hearing, an additional district and sessions judge (South) granted pre-arrest bail against a surety bond of Rs10,000 for a week.

The prosecution said PTI leaders along with area residents had allegedly stormed the office of the Cantonment Board Clifton on April 7 during a protest demonstration against the imposition of a new tax on water supply through tankers.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2017