KARACHI, Aug 9: A district and sessions court adjourned on Saturday the hearing of the Justice Nizam murder case till Aug 29 due to the absence of an accused.

Justice Nizam Ahmed of the Sindh High Court and his son Nadeem Ahmed, a lawyer, were shot dead in an attack on June 10, 1996 in front of their PECHS residence. Asif Ali Zardari, Akhtar Javed Pirzada, Bilal Shaikh and Babar Sindhu were nominated accused in the double-murder case.

The counsel for Bilal Shaikh through an application requested the district and sessions judge, central, Soofia Latif, to condone the absence of his client stating that he was in Islamabad due to some political engagements.

The complainant, Group Captain (retd) Sikandar, brother-in-law of Justice Nizam Ahmed, had lodged an FIR (357/96) at the Ferozabad police station under Section 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The killings were attributed to a dispute over a prized plot near Awami Markaz as Justice Nizam Ahmed had opposed its commercialization and illegal allotment.

The high court has already acquitted Mr Zardari in the case.