KARACHI, April 29: An anti-terrorism court, headed by Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch, awarded death sentence to a Harkat activist on Saturday for killing a woman and awarded an aggregate of 51 years imprisonment for possessing explosive material, illegal weapons, attempt to murder and restraining law-enforcers from performing their duties.

Kamran alias Atif, also wanted in a case for conspiring to assassinate President Geneal Pervez Musharraf who carried Rs3 million reward on arrest, was prosecuted for killing a woman and attempting to kill policemen in a shootout on May 19, 2004 in the limits of Taimoria police station. He was further charged with possessing arms, ammunition and other explosive material.

Earlier, the ATC sentenced him to an aggregate 40 years rigorous imprisonment on above charges, besides confiscation of his moveable and immovable property, but the Sindh High Court, hearing his appeal against conviction set aside the trial court order and remanded back the case to the trial court for hearing final arguments of the case and its disposal in accordance with law.

charge-sheet: Administrative judge of anti-terrorism courts in Karachi on Saturday, accepting charge-sheet against four employees of former Chief Minister of Balochistan Sardar Akhtar Mengal in army personnel hostage-taking case, sent the case to ATC-V for trial.

AJ Khilji Arif Hussain of the Sindh High Court also directed the ATC judge to decide whether the case was triable under anti-terrorism act or not.

Nasarullah Mengal, Ghulam Hyder Langah alias Chappar, Mehboob Ali Satti and Ghulam Qadir are accused of kidnapping two army personnel and making them hostage on April 5.

Akhtar Mengal, who is also Chief of Balochistan National Party (Mengal), and other unidentified persons were declared absconding co-accused in the charge-sheet.

Police alleged that Sardar Akhtar Mengal, with others kidnapped army Havildar Qurban Hussain and Lance Naik Fayaz Ahmed from Darakshan with intention to kill them on April 5 when army personnel were going to their intelligence duty.

Complainant of the case, Qurban Hussain, submitted in his FIR that they were made hostage at the residence of Akhtar Mengal in Khayban-i-Shamsher DHA for two hours and were subjected to torture.—PPI