KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Monday reserved its order on an application for framing amended charge against accused facing trial in the 2013 murder of renowned rights activist Perween Rahman.

Five accused — Abdul Raheem Swati, his son Mohammad Imran Swati, Ayaz Shamzai, Amjad Hussain Khan and Ahmed Khan aka Ahmed Ali aka Pappu Kashmiri — have already been charged with the murder of the 55-year-old activist.

Ms Rahman, the then head of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) who devoted her life to the development of the impoverished neighborhoods across the country, was gunned down near her office in Orangi Town on March 13, 2013.

On Monday, ATC-VII judge took up an application previously moved by the prosecution pleading to also indict the accused for hatching a conspiracy to kill Ms Rahman.

Defence counsel for the accused persons, however, had opposed the application arguing that it was a tactic to delay the pronouncement of the verdict in the case, which was already reserved on Oct 15 following the eight-year-long trial.

After hearing arguments, the judge reserved his order on the plea to be pronounced on Nov 24.

On Oct 15, the judge had reserved his judgement in the main case for Nov 3, but the same was postponed after the prosecutor moved the application.

In the plea, prosecutor Neel Parkash stated that he had gone through the contents of the confessional statement of the main accused Raheem Swati, which was recorded before the then SSP Investigation-(I) West Zone Akhtar Farooqui under Section 21-H of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1999.

The prosecutor stated that he had also gone through the statement recorded before the court by SSP Farooqui, who had clearly deposed about a conspiracy hatched by the accused persons for committing the murder of Perween Rahman, which is a matter of record.

Therefore, he had pleaded the judge to frame an amended charge against the accused persons with regard to hatching the conspiracy to kill Ms Rahman, under Section 120-B of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Initially, a case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Pirabad police station.

Later, Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the ATA was incorporated in the case on the basis of a judicial inquiry conducted by then district and sessions judge (west) Ghulam Mustafa Memon on the orders of the Supreme Court.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2021