0
KARACHI, March 20: The first two prime witnesses for the prosecution against Bilal Khar, being tried for throwing acid on his former wife by the district and sessions judge, South, turned hostile on Thursday.
One of the witnesses, younger sister of victim Fakhira, deposed that the defendant was not the man who had attacked. The attacker was short and had scars of pox on his face, the witnesses said.
The eldest son of former Punjab governor Ghulam Mustafa Khar was booked by the Napier police on the complaint of Shahida Malik, the mother-in-law of Fakhira’s sister, Kiran.
The complainant reported to the police that the estranged wife of Bilal Khar was staying at her apartment. On May 14, 2000, Bilal Khar came there around 2:30pm and left after throwing acid on his wife in the presence of her daughter-in-law Kiran, wife of Imran Malik, and her son Amir Malik, who was injured in the attack.
Bilal Khar, being represented by Shahadat Awan, was arrested on November 1 last year in his hometown, Muzaffargarh.
Kiran and her brother-in-law Amir Malik, who were present at the time of incident, appeared as first prosecution witnesses.
Both the witnesses deposed that they had not attended the marriage ceremony of Fakhira and Bilal Khar.
The two witnesses were declared hostile at the request of district attorney Abdur Rahman Baloch, who also cross-examined them.
The judge fixed March 22 for the next hearing of the case when the judge would also take up the bail application of the accused.
IG MOVES APPLICATION: The Inspector-General of the Sindh Police, Syed Kamal Shah, moved an application before the district and sessions judge, south, Agha Rafique Ahmed, seeking the deletion of his name from the list of the witnesses summoned by a judicial magistrate into a direct complaint.
The judicial magistrate, South, Rahmat Ullah Moro, is conducting an inquiry into a direct complaint against the chief of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee and 19 others, including a senior superintendent of police, for involving an army officer in a Hudood case.
Major Mohammed Zargham Mirza had lodged a direct complaint before the judicial magistrate for registration of criminal case against 20 respondents, including Jamil Yousuf and A. D. Khawaja, under sections 182, 500 and 506 of PPC.
Those made respondent in the complaint included Zaeem Iqbal, ASP, Lubna Tiwana, then SHO of Women Police Station, Inspector Abdul Hakim Bangash, Azhar Ellahi and Sharf Memon.
Earlier, a defence counsel for the IG had appeared before the magistrate and filed an application for recalling the summons issued for the appearance of the police chief in the court in the matter.
In his application before the district and sessions judge, the Sindh police cheif stated that he was not the IG of the province at the relevant time.
The judge issued notice to Major Zargham, being represented by Waqar Shah, to submit his reply on the application on March 24.
PLEAS DISPOSED OF: The Sindh High Court disposed of as not pressed two writ petitions alleging illegal confinement of two people by the police.
Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan informed a division bench, comprising Justice Mohammed Roshan Essani and Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, that the detainees, Abdul Majid and Mohammed Ismaeel, were picked up under the Maintenance of Public Order and were released on Wednesday. They were suspected of links with a banned organization.
The petitioners, wives of the released detainees, did not press their petitions.
