KARACHI: An antiterrorism court has summoned a technical expert, who conducted geofencing and call data record analysis of four men charged with facilitating the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Ali Raza Abidi, to testify.

The four men — Mohammad Farooq, Abdul Haseeb, Mohammad Ghazali and Abu Bakar — have been booked and arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of the former MQM MNA, who was gunned down outside his Defence residence in December 2018.

The matter recently came up before the ATC-III judge, who is conducting the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, for recording testimonies of witnesses of the prosecution against the accused persons.

The judge directed the state prosecutor to ensure presence of the investigating officer of the case, Inspector Ali Hyder, on the next date for recording his statement.

The judge also bound another prosecution witness, head constable Mohammad Tayyab, who was present in court, to appear on the next date for recording his statement.

The matter was fixed on March 22 for recording evidence of both the prosecution witnesses, who were told to ensure their presence before the court.

Mr Tayyab had conducted geofencing of the mobile phones used by the detained accused persons and also analysed their calls’ recording data and prepared a report on the basis of which the four men were detained and indicted.

According to his findings, the accused had carried out reconnaissance of MQM leader Abidi for at least six months before he was finally targeted outside his house by two armed motorcyclists, who managed to flee after committing the crime.

The court has already declared as proclaimed offenders four alleged accomplices of the detained men — Bilal, Hasnain, Ghulam Mustafa and Faizan — after the IO filed a report declaring their whereabouts to be untraceable.

According to the prosecution, 46-year-old Abidi was shot dead by armed motorcyclists in an attack on his vehicle outside his residence in Defence Housing Authority, Phase-V.

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) had arrested the accused persons and claimed that they were affiliated with criminal gangs operating in Lyari, it added.

The prosecution further maintained that the accused had tried to set a motorcycle, used in the crime, on fire in a Lyari locality and alleged that they were hired killers as one of the detained accused disclosed that an unidentified man paid them Rs800,000 for killing the former MNA.

A case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 on the complaint of the victim’s father Akhlaq Abidi at the Gizri police station.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2021