HYDERABAD, May 8: Justice Syed Ali Ashraf Shah of the Anti- Terrorism Court, Hyderabad, has issued a notice to Advocate General of Sindh for May 11 on an application filed by defence lawyer, Rai Basheer Ahmed, requesting the court to order registration of a blasphemy case against AG Sindh Raja Qureshi under sections 295-A and 295-C.
The defence counsel stated in his application that AG Sindh Raja Qureshi had misquoted verses from the Holy Quran and Hadith, and had also allegedly passed derogatory remarks against the person of Holy Prophet (PBUH). He prayed the court to book him under blasphemy law.
It rejected three applications filed by Rai Basheer and Abdul Wahid Katpar, counsel for the principal accused Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, in which the accused have expressed lack of confidence in the present presiding judge.
In his third application, filed under section 352 Cr.PC, Rai Basheer requested the court to hold an open court trial, and allow meeting of relatives with the detenues.
He threatened to boycott the proceedings if the trial was not held in an open court, and international and national media was not allowed to witness proceedings.
None of the prosecution witnesses could be examined on Wednesday.
According to Rai Basheer, prosecution witness Amir was to depose before the court. The witness was receptionist of Akbar International Hotel at Rawalpindi, and had told investigators that Omer Sheikh had stayed in his hotel by the name of Muzaffar Farooqui.
All the four accused Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Sheikh Adil, Fahad Naseem and Salman Saqib were present in the court. Aslam Sheikh, brother of Adil Sheikh, Syed Abdul Rauf, father of Salman Saqib, along with his other son were also present in the court. They were, however, not allowed to meet the detenues.
As soon as proceedings commenced, the defence lawyers Abdul Waheed Katpar, assisted by Mohsin Imam and Rai Basheer, filed three applications before the court.
The judge heard arguments and duly rejected them. The case would now be heard on May 11.
In two identical applications, the counsels contended that the accused have no confidence in the present presiding officer. They prayed the court not to proceed with the matter and make a reference to the Sindh High Court so that the case should be transferred to some other judge, for disposal of the case, according to the law.
Rai Basheer also protested against the appointment of two lawyers on state expenses, and said that the court was in knowledge of the fact he was busy at the apex court.
He remarked the said lawyers have been appointed in order to “convict the accused”.
He maintained that these ‘state’ lawyers were not acceptable to the accused.
The court, however, observed that the case has been referred to it by the Sindh High Court, and it was not within its jurisdiction to order an open trial. The applications were dismissed, accordingly.
Advocates Agha Khuda Bux and Umer Deen Qureshi, appointed on state expenses, were also in the court but they could not represent the ‘pauper’ accused.
AG BLAMES: Advocate General Sindh Raja Qureshi has rejected the allegations of defence counsel, Rai Basheer, that he had made derogatory remarks while quoting verses from Holy Quran and Hadith.
Talking to newsmen on Wednesday, Qureshi stated he had informed the court that the present proceedings were being conducted under a special law, and cited Mehram Ali’s case in this context.
He said that the defence counsel were adopting delaying tactics in order to find excuse to boycott the proceedings.
He maintained that this was a legal criminal prosecution. He charged that tactics were being employed by the defence to wriggle out of prosecution, and to ultimately boycott the proceedings.
He maintained that the Wednesday’s bomb blast in Karachi had justified the April 30 order of Sindh High Court to try the Pearl case in Hyderabad on security grounds.
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