KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has issued notices to the prosecutor general Sindh on appeals filed by two persons convicted in a case pertaining to the assassination of renowned social worker and former head of the Orangi Pilot Project Perween Rahman.

Mohammad Raheem Swati and his son Mohammad Imran through their counsel challenged their convictions handed down by an antiterrorism court last month.

Ms Rahman was gunned down near her office on Manghopir Road on March 13, 2013.

The counsel for the appellants argued that they were implicated in the case as nothing had recovered from their possessions and the trial court did not consider the material facts available before it including contradictions in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses.

The lawyer contended that the case had become doubtful as there was no private/independent witness and alleged that the trial court had treated the matter as a policy matter and pleaded to set aside the convictions.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro put the PG on notice and asked its office to prepare the paper book till next hearing.

SHC issues notices to prosecutor general on convicts’ appeals

On Dec 17, 2021 an ATC had sentenced Rahim, Amjad Hussain Khan, Ayaz Shamzai and Ahmed Khan alias Pappu Kashmiri to life imprisonment after holding them guilty of facilitating, aiding and abetting the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan men for the murder of the rights activist.

The trial court had also handed down seven-year term to Imran on charge of concealing evidence.

The prosecution maintained that some of the detained accused during interrogations confessed to their involvement in the crime and said that local leaders of the Awami National Party had hired Taliban militants to kill Ms Rahman.

Ayaz and Raheem, local leaders of the ANP, were living near the OPP office and tried to obtain a designated area to build a karate centre, but Ms Rahman refused to allow it, it added.

The prosecution further said that all the accused persons were present in a meeting held in January 2013 at the residence of Raheem in which they planned the assassination of Ms Rahman, adding that they hired local commanders of TTP, Moosa and Mehfoozullah alias Bhaloo, to kill the OPP head.

It claimed that two other accused in the case — Qari Bilal and Mehfoozullah — had already been killed while Bilal Ahmed alias Tension had been released after his arrest for lack of evidence.

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 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 was incorporated in the case on a directive of the Supreme Court that also had ordered a judicial inquiry into the case by the then district and sessions judge (West).

The judicial inquiry report, placed before the SC in 2014, recommended that the murder be reinvestigated by an efficient, independent and honest police officer. It expressed dissatisfaction over the probe stating that the police investigators had not hesitated to manipulate key aspects of the investigation.

Thereafter, several joint investigation teams were constituted by the provincial and federal authorities on the directives of the apex court to probe the case.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2022