LAHORE, April 2: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday acquitted ‘trader’ Khwaja Aqeel alias Gogi Butt of the murder of Arif Ameer alias Tipu Truckanwala. Butt submitted in the court that he was innocent and had no role in the murder of Tipu.

He said the prosecution failed to produce any evidence against him and asked the court to acquit him.

The court, after hearing the prosecution and the defence counsel, accepted the application and ordered Butt’s release.

Tipu was attacked in the parking lot of Allama Iqbal International Airport on his return from Dubai in January 2010. He was taken to Mayo Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries two days later.

Personnel of the Airport Security Force arrested two men from the scene and handed them over to Sarwar Road police.

Later, a case was registered against Khurram Ijaz Butt, Gogi Butt and Malik Ehsan on the complaint of Tipu’s uncle Sultan Mahmood.

NAB DG case: A civil miscellaneous application filed in the Lahore High Court seeks restraining of the National Accountability Bureau’s Punjab director general from functioning forthwith as the court is hearing a case questioning his eligibility.

Shah Faisal Qureshi filed the application in a pending petition against appointment of NAB DG Rana Zahid Mehmood, and submitted the respondent was committing illegalities during the pendency of the main case.

The applicant is among the persons affected by Canal Motors reference being heard by an accountability court.

Expressing apprehensions that the DG might take any illegal action against him for challenging his appointment, the applicant prayed to the court that Mr Mehmood be restrained from holding the NAB Punjab DG office till the final decision regarding his appointment.