PESHAWAR, Dec 8: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday acquitted a man accused in a case of a Shia leader's murder and reserved judgment for Thursday about three other accused.

Nadir Khan, one of the accused in the murder case of Anwar Ali Akhunzada, had filed a plea in the court under Section 265-K of the Anti-Terrorism Act that he had been implicated in the case, and there was no evidence against him. The court will announce judgment about the three accused - Shakil, Ishaq and Shehzad Gul - on Thursday (today).

Mr Akhunzada, provincial leader of the banned Tehrik-i-Jafaria Pakistan, was killed by unknown gunmen on Jan 1, 2001, in a busy bazaar of the city. A case was registered against unknown assailants, but later the names of the four accused, all members of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, were mentioned in the FIR.