KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Thursday sentenced a convict to death in a case pertaining to killing of a police official and injuring a private security guard during a bank robbery.

Mohammad Nawaz was found guilty of murdering police sub-inspector Ishaque Abbasi and wounding private security guard Anwar Saeed during a bungled armed robbery at Apna Bank near Future Mor in Malir in April 2014.

On Thursday, the judge of the ATC-VII pronounced his judgement.

The judge noted that the prosecution successfully established the case against the accused.

The judge handed down death sentence to Nawaz on two counts; terrorism and murder.

The judge also awarded him a collective sentence of 44 years and ordered to pay a collective fine of Rs650,000. On default, the accused would undergo an additional collective sentence of three-year imprisonment. However, all sentences will run concurrently.

According to the prosecution, Nawaz along with his alleged accomplice Faizan, who died in firing by police during the robbery attempt, tried to enter the bank by shooting at the bank’s private guard Anwar Saeed and sub-inspector M. Ishaque Abbasi, but police constable Fayaz pushed them back by returning fire.

Faizan died on the spot while Nawaz was apprehended in wounded condition, said the prosecution, adding that the police also recovered two unlicensed weapons — a 9mm and a .30 bore pistol, from them. Meanwhile, the two other wounded were taken to the hospital, but Ishaque Abbasi died on the way.

Interestingly, in 2015, an ATC had awarded death sentence to Nawaz, but the Sindh High Court had set aside his conviction while partially allowing his appeal in 2018. The high court had directed the trial court to conduct fresh trial.

Advocate Shahid Mushtaque, defence counsel for the detained accused, argued that his client was a passer-by and got wounded by firing of Fayaz, but the police booked him in the present case with mala fide intention.

He added that the prosecution did not have any independent witness against him, but policemen and the bank employees.

On the other hand, state prosecutors Sajida Kareem Qazi and M. Mohsin Mangi contended that the witnesses produced by the prosecution did not have any enmity with the accused, adding that the witnesses recorded their testimonies against the accused without any fear or pressure.

The prosecutors further argued that the material evidence, including CCTV footage from the bank, also supported the allegations of the prosecution.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2020