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KARACHI, Aug 15: The special Anti-Narcotics Court, headed by Judge Ali Nawaz Pirzada, sentenced on Thursday a woman drug trafficker to five years in jail.
The judge also imposed fine of Rs100,000 on Rabia alias Rabic, who was arrested by the Kalakot police in a raid at her flat in the Rexer Lane on May 22, 2001. The police had seized 1.75 kilograms of heroin from her possession.
She would have to undergo an additional six-month term in case of default on the payment, the judge also ordered.
The same court sentenced a Nigerian drug trafficker to suffer rigorous imprisonment for four years for attempting to smuggle 750 grams of heroin.
Anthony son of Ndubuisi, who had hidden the contraband drug in his rectum, was arrested on March 11, this year by the Anti-narcotics Force at the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport.
He was sent to the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre where he excreted 60 heroin-filled capsules on March 16.
The judge also fined him Rs50,000 and ordered that drug smuggler would have to undergo an additional three-month term in case of default on the payment.
SENT TO JAIL: The administrative judge of the accountability courts, Rahmat Hussain Jefferi, remanded on Thursday an accused in Rs1.6 billion fraud case to jail.
Mohammed Siddique Shaikh of a leasing company was produced before the court by investigation officer Faqeer Muhammed hours after his arrest by the National Accountability Bureau.
The judge sent the accused person to jail after the investigation officer submitted before the court that he was not required by the investigation agency for interrogation.
The judge put off the matter till Sept 30 with a notice to the jail authorities to produce the accused on the next date.
Mohammed Tahir Siddiqui, former general manager of the defunct Prudential Bank, is the prime accused in this reference, which pertained to the misappropriation of funds of Employees Old Age Benefit Institute (EOBI).
ACQUITTED: The additional district and sessions judge, West, Ms Nuzhat Ara Alvi, acquitted a worker of the Muttehida Qaumi Movement in a case pertaining to the possession of an unlicensed AK-47 rifle (Kalashnikov).
Nihal Hashmi, arrested in 1999 by the Orangi Extension police, was exonerated as the prosecution could not prove allegations against him.
CONTEMPT CASE: The Anti-terrorism Court No. 1, headed by Judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi, put off the hearing of a contempt of court case against three top leaders of the Muttehida Qaumi Movement.
Aftab Ahmed Shaikh, Nasreen Jalil and Dr. Muhammed Farooq Sattar are facing the contempt proceedings for allegedly calling the ATCs “police stamped courts” and “kangaroo courts” during a press conference.
While adjourning the matter till 21st, the judge also granted the condonation application of Nasreen Jalil, who did not appear in the court.
The contempt proceedings against the Muttahida leaders were initiated on an application by Naveed Hasni, complainant in the murder case of his paternal uncle, Naeem Hasni and cousin Danish Hasni, in August 99 by Judge Muhammed Jawaid Alam, who was then heading the ATC-5.
Naeem Hasni, a former councillor belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party, and his son was killed in an ambush on May 8, 1998 within the limits of Gulbahar police.
The deceased’s nephew filed the application on Aug 24, 1999 before the trial court for initiating contempt proceedings against the Muttahida leaders for scandalising the ATCs. The applicant quoted Muttahida leaders as saying that “the judges are at the mercy of the government and if they did not act as per directions of the government, their services would come to an end”.
Later on November 11, 1999, the ATC-5 took cognizance of the case against the respondents, who also included some people from the media, and issued summons for their appearance before the court on December 12, 1999.
The respondents belonging to media were, however, pardoned by the court after they filed respective apologies.
Nawab Mirza, counsel for Farooq Sattar, and Aftab Shaikh challenged the trial court’s cognizance of the case in the Sindh High Court. The SHC set aside on August 8, 2000 the impugned order of the trial court and directed it (ATC) to “hear Aftab Ahmed Shaikh and Farooq Sattar and pass a fresh order in accordance with law”.
