ISLAMABAD: One of the accused found guilty in Dr Imran Farooq’s murder case on Thursday challenged in the Islamabad High Court his conviction handed down by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) .

The ATC of Islamabad had on June 18 convicted three accused — Moazzam Ali, Mohammad Kashif Kamran and Syed Mohsin Ali — in the MQM leader’s murder case and awarded them life imprisonment.

Moazzam Ali filed the appeal against the ATC verdict in the Islamabad High Court.

Through the appeal, he informed the court that the ATC judge had convicted him despite the fact that evidence with the prosecution was insufficient to connect him with the crime.

He said he had been implicated in the case because of some banking transactions, adding that being a businessman, he had done several banking transactions with different individuals and entities.

According to the appellant, it was an admitted fact that he was not present at the crime scene at the time of the murder of Dr Farooq.

The Counter-Terrorism Wing (CTW) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered a first information report (FIR) alleging that the assassination of Dr Farooq was the result of a conspiracy hatched in the United Kingdom and Pakistan by Altaf Hussain, founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Muhammad Anwar, senior member of the MQM, and Iftikhar Hussain. As a result of the conspiracy, Khalid Shamim and Moazzam Ali facilitated and sent Muhammad Kashif Khan Kamran, along with Syed Mohsin Ali, to the United Kingdom to kill Dr Imran Farooq.

Dr Farooq was killed in Green Lane, Edgeware area of London, on Sept 16, 2010.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2020