KARACHI: An antiterrorism court has reserved its verdict till April 30 in a seven-year-old case against senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leadership for harbouring suspected militants at its now sealed Nine Zero headquarters.

MQM-P leader Amir Khan, former security in-charge Minhaj Qazi and Raees alias Mama have been charged with sheltering wanted criminals at the party’s Azizabad headquarters.

When the matter came up before the ATC-VII judge, who conducted the trial at the judicial complex inside the Karachi central prison, Amir Khan appeared on bail while Raees Mama and Qazi were produced from prison.

The judge recorded final arguments from both sides and reserved his verdict to be pronounced on April 30 (tomorrow).

During the trial, the prosecution examined six witnesses — two investigating officers of the case, Inspector Mohsin Zaidi and Inspector Rashid Hussain, complainant Rangers officer Riaz and three policemen.

Rangers had detained the accused along with several others during a pre-dawn raid at and around the party headquarters on March 11, 2015.

According to the prosecution, the paramilitary force had arrested Amir Khan and 26 others, including Faisal Mehmood alias Mota who was sentenced to death in absentia in the Wali Babar murder case, during the raid.

It said that the MQM leader along with five others had allegedly provided shelter to criminals whom they had been using for terrorist activities in the city.

A joint investigation team recommended the registration of a case against the MQM leader Khan, it concluded.

Later, police shown arrested Raees Mama in this case from the Karachi central prison in 2018, while Qazi was shown arrested in 2016 from Mehboodabad police station, where he was being grilled in connection with the 1997 Shahid Hamid murder case.

Three absconding suspects — Shahzad Mullah, Imran Ijaz Niazi and Naeem alias Mullah — have already been declared proclaimed offenders in the case by the court.

A case was registered under Sections 11-V (directing terrorist activities), 21-J (harbouring any person who committed an offence under this act) and 7 (punishment for act of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 on a complaint of a Rangers’ official at the Azizabad police station.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2022