KARACHI: An antiterrorism court dismissed on Tuesday an application of a former district judge seeking transfer of a murder case to a sessions court for trial.

The then district and sessions judge (Mithi), Sikandar Lashari, along with Irfan Khan, alias Fahim, has been charged with murdering 19-year-old Aqib Shahani, son of his fellow district and sessions judge Khalid Hussain Shahani, in Hyderabad in February 2014.

The accused through their lawyer moved an application under Section 23 (power to transfer cases to regular courts) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Defence lawyer Mushtaq Ahmed contended that the offence did not come within the ambit of the ATA since the alleged motive for the killing was mentioned as private enmity or revenge.

He maintained that the prosecution had almost examined all the witnesses, but nobody had specifically deposed on the point of terrorism.

However, the special public prosecutor and lawyer for complainant opposed the plea and argued that the incident had created terror and insecurity among the legal fraternity, judicial officers and the public.

They further submitted that the trial court as well as the Sindh High Court had already dismissed the same applications and the defence side was using delaying tactics to prolong the trial.

After hearing both sides, the ATC-II judge dismissed the application and fixed Oct 14 for cross examination of first investigating officer of the case.

The prosecution is likely to rest its side soon as it has so far examined around 20 witnesses, including some eyewitnesses.

The defence lawyer said that after the dismissal of his plea from high court, he approached the Supreme Court for transfer of case and the apex court asked him that he might move the trial court again on the basis of evidence recorded so far.

According to the prosecution, Aqib, aka Kashif, was driving his car when gunmen in another vehicle intercepted him on Thandi Sarak, took him out and sprayed him with bullets. His mother, two sisters and a cousin were with him in the car. The former judge has been charged for allegedly instigating the killing since the deceased was reportedly in love with one of his daughters, it added.

The ATC judge in Hyderabad had sent a reference to the chief justice of the Sindh High Court requesting him to transfer the case to any other court since both sides were known to him and the SHC had transferred the case to ATC-II Karachi last year.

Ghulam Abbas Siyal, Barkat Lashari, Iqbal Punjabi, Farhan Siyal and Morr Channa, gunman of Sikandar Lashari, have been declared proclaimed offenders in the case.

KDA chief’s custody in passport case

A judicial magistrate allowed on Tuesday the Federal Investigation Age­ncy to keep the custody of the director general of the Karachi Development Aut­hority for two more days in a case pertaining to falsifying facts to obtain a passport.

The Federal Investigation Agency arrested Syed Nasir Abbas on Sept 16 for allegedly concealing his government job and obtaining a passport by declaring himself a businessman. On the following day, he was remanded in the custody of the FIA.

After the end of his remand, the FIA produced him again before a judicial magistrate (South) and the investigating officer sought extension in his physical remand for further questioning.

The court granted two-day extension and directed the IO to produce him at next hearing along with a progress report.

The FIA’s anti-human trafficking cell booked the grade-20 officer under Section 6 (1) (a) (c) of the Passport Act, 1974 which said that a person shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three years or with fine or both if he makes use of statement which he knows or believes to be false in any document for obtaining passport or wilfully conceals any fact which under the circumstances he ought to disclose for the purpose of obtaining a passport for himself or another person.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2017