KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Friday acquitted six accused, said to be associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), in a case pertaining to the 2010 targeted killing of DSP Nawaz Ranjha and his guard.

The court exonerated the six as the prosecution failed to prove its case in the retrial.

DSP Ranjha — who had also investigated the Karsaz twin bomb attacks on former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming procession in Karachi on Oct 8, 2007 — and Head Constable Jahangir were shot dead on MA Jinnah Road near the Radio Pakistan building within the jurisdiction of the Preedy police station in August 2010.

The six accused — Ishtiaq alias Policewala, Syed Abu Irfan alias Urfee, Syed Shakir Shah alias Rafay, Zakir Hussain alias Adeel Agha, Khawaja Mohammad Faisal and Shafique alias Shafiqur Rehman — were booked and arrested for their alleged involvement in the double murder case.

ATC exonerates all accused in retrial

On Friday, the ATC-XII judge, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pronounced the verdict reserved earlier after recording evidence and final arguments from both sides.

The judge noted that the prosecution failed to prove the charge against the accused persons beyond a reasonable doubt. The court acquitted them for lack of evidence.

The court ordered prison authorities to immediately release the persons, if their custody was not required in any other case.

The case has seen many interesting turns over the period of 12 years.

In April 2019 the same court had sentenced Mohammad Ishtiaq and Abu Irfan to life in prison for murdering DSP Ranjha and HC Jahangir.

The trial court had also handed down a 10-year term to Irfan, but acquitted the four other co-accused for lack of evidence.

Both the convicts had challenged their conviction before the Sindh High Court, which had partly allowed their appeals. It had set aside life imprisonment handed down to Ishtiaq and Abu Irfan, observing that the trial court had committed several illegalities while passing the impugned judgement and that it was in complete departure from the procedural law.

While striking down the conviction order, the SHC sent the case back to the trial court for rewriting of the judgement while assigning “cogent reasons” for any deviation from the prescribed sentences.

The bench had also directed the trial court to complete this exercise within three months under the intimation of the high court.

A case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder), 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his duty), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the Preedy police station.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2022