ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday rejected a petition seeking transfer of the trial of suspects involved in the murder of MQM’s Dr Imran Farooq from the anti-terrorism court (ATC) to a sessions court.

IHC division bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb dismissed the petition filed to remove terrorism-related sections against suspects Mohsin Ali and Moazzam Ali.

Mohsin, Moazzam and Khalid Shamim are currently facing the murder case and are imprisoned in Adiala jail.

Earlier, ATC judge Syed Kausar Abbas Zaidi had dismissed the applications challenging the trial and requesting the court to remove Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, from the case.

Since the case against the accused persons is registered under ATA, therefore, they are being tried in the ATC.

Two suspects, Mohsin and Khalid Shamim, have already recorded their confessional statements before a magistrate alleging that the MQM leader was killed as he was a “potent threat to the MQM leadership”.

The third suspect, Moazzam, has not recorded his confessional statement yet.

Shamim has confessed that Dr Farooq’s murder was a “birthday gift” for the MQM founder, Altaf Hussain, while Mohsin’s statement revealed that he took part in the crime as he was promised a position in the London secretariat of the MQM.

On Dec 5, the FIA had registered a case against Altaf Hussain and other party leaders for their alleged involvement in the murder of Dr Imran Farooq near his apartment in Green Lane, Edgware, London in Sept 2010.

The counterterrorism wing of the FIA had registered the case under the relevant clauses of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2017