KARACHI, March 2: An Anti-Terrorism Appellate (ATA) bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC), comprising Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro and Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi, on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by an accused in US Consulate firing case in which three policemen were killed.

Appellant Zulfiqar preferred the appeal against his conviction and sentence by an ATC at Karachi which sentenced him to death for killing three police officers in Feb 2003.

According to details, accused and the appellant, armed with a revolver and a TT pistol, snatched a gun from a police constable inside the lavatory of Bagh-i-Jinnah (Frere Hall) after injuring him.

He came out and opened fire at a police post outside US Consulate, killing two sub-inspectors of police.

When the personnel of Rangers, intercepted him, he fired at them also, but was overpowered and arrested red-handed, with the weapons used in the incident.

He was tried by an ATC which sentenced him to death on three counts of murder. As no one was appearing for the applicant, the ATA bench appointed Mohammad Farooq, advocate, as counsel for pauper accused. When the appeal was taken up by the bench, Abdul Waheed Katpar, advocate, filed powers on behalf of the accused and argued the appeal. Habib Ahmed, Assistant Advocate-General, represented the state.

The state counsel submitted that it was a pre-planned murderous attack by the accused/appellant. He was duly armed and fired at the security officials with intention to kill them, the AAG stated.

The bench, after hearing the sides, dismissed the appeal maintaining the death sentence.

The same bench repeated notices to the respondents in an appeal filed by the NAB chairman in a case against former Sindh Chief Minister Syed Abdullah Shah and others.

Two of the alleged beneficiaries have already paid Rs2.2 million as plea bargain.

According to prosecution, accused got a four-acres piece of land allotted for poultry farming in Deh Kanto, District East, and later through an application get it converted into industrial/commercial/ residential category by paying a paltry sum of Rs50,000 per acre, thereby causing a loss of Rs 2.2 million to the provincial coffers.

The other accused include Ramesh M Udehsi, former secretary of land utilization, Mohammad Ali and Iqbal Rasheed.—APP