KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Saturday indicted Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Amir Khan in a case pertaining to providing shelter to alleged terrorists.

The senior deputy convener of the MQM-P, former in-charge of security of the now sealed MQM headquarters Nine Zero Minhaj Qazi along with their absconding accomplices were booked for allegedly providing shelter to wanted criminals at Nine Zero in Azizabad and using them for terrorist activities.

An ATC judge, who is conducting the trial at the judicial complex inside the Karachi Central Prison, read out charges against the accused. However, they pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the case.

The court directed the prosecution to produce its witnesses for evidence on Dec 4.

Mr Khan pleads not guilty

Pakistan Rangers, Sindh had detained the MQM leader along with several others during a pre-dawn raid at and around the party headquarters on March 11, 2015.

According to the prosecution, the paramilitary force had arrested Amir Khan and 26 other armed suspects, including Faisal Mehmood alias Mota who was sentenced to death in absentia in the journalist Wali Babar murder case, during the raid.

It said that the MQM leader was in-charge of the security of the party headquarters and he along with five others had allegedly provided shelter to criminals 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, it concluded.

A case was registered under Sections 11-V (directing terrorist activities), 21-J (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 a Rangers’ official at the Azizabad police station.

Raees Mama, Shahzad Mullah, Imran Ijaz Niazi and Naeem alias Mullah have been declared as proclaimed officers in the case.

Charges framed against opposition leader, mayor

A judicial magistrate on Saturday framed charges against Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Khawaja Izharul Hasan, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar and two others for lodging a protest outside the Chief Minister House.

They, along with a dozen other party leaders and around 500 workers, were booked for allegedly blocking roads, rioting and disrupting law and order situation by staging a sit-in outside the CM House in June last year in protest over the shortage of water in the metropolis.

The magistrate read out charges against the accused persons, who denied all of them and opted to contest the case.

The court summoned all prosecution witnesses for Dec 2.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2017