KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Thursday issued a notice to the SSP-investigation of South range directing him to ensure presence of the investigating officer (IO) of the 1997 Shahid Hamid murder case in court for recording his statement.

Two accused Mohammad Minhaj Qazi alias Asad and Mehboob Ghufran alias Athar, along with their alleged accomplices, have been charged with the killing the then managing director of the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation (KESC), his driver and a guard in DHA on July 5, 1997.

On Thursday, the ATC-III judge, who is conducting the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, was set to record testimony of prosecution witness, Inspector Muhammad Sarwar alias Commando, who is the investigating officer of the case.

However, Sarwar Commando, who had arrested accused Qazi and Ghufran, did not show up to record his statement.

Former KESC managing director Shahid Hamid was murdered in DHA in 1997

On the last hearing, the judge had bound down the police official to appear in court for recording his statement in the case.

Taking notice of his absence, the judge issued a notice to the SSP-investigation directing him to ensure the presence of his subordinate before the court for recording his statement on the next date. Hearing was adjourned till April 18.

According to the prosecution, the then SHO of the Gulbahar police station, Mohammad Aslam Khan, better known as Chaudhry Aslam, had arrested an MQM hitman, Saulat Mirza, in December 1998 at Karachi airport. During grilling, Mirza confessed to have killed the former KESC chief and named his accomplices.

The prosecution alleged that the offence was carried out to avenge the removal of MQM supporters from the KESC by the then MD.

An ATC had already sentenced Mirza to death in 1999 in this case and he was executed in the Machh jail in Balochistan on May 12, 2015.

A triple murder case was registered at the Darakhshan police station on the complaint of the widow of the deceased Shahid Hamid.

Hearing adjourned in Naqeeb murder case

The same court on Thursday deferred recording of crucial statements of former SSP Rao Anwar and his subordinates facing trial for murdering an aspiring Waziristan model Naqeebullah Mehsud and three others in a ‘staged’ encounter.

Rao Anwar along with his around 24 subordinates has been charged with the killing of Naqeebullah and three others after dubbing them as ‘Taliban militants’ on Jan 13, 2018.

On Thursday, the ATC-III judge, who is conducting the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, was set to record statements of the undertrial police officials under Section 342 of the criminal procedure code.

Former SSP Anwar, ex-DSP Qamar Ahmed Sheikh and four other accused appeared in court on bail while 12 co-accused were produced from prison.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2022