KARACHI: A sessions court on Thursday awarded the death sentence to a man on two counts in a case pertaining to the murder of TV anchorperson Mureed Abbas and another individual over shady investments worth billions of rupees.
After hearing arguments and examining the evidence presented by the defence as well as by complainant’s counsel Jibran Nasir and Daniyal Muhammad Hussain, Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) Abdul Hafeez Lashari found Atif Zaman guilty on two counts for murdering Khizar Hayat and anchorperson Abbas intentionally on the night of July 9, 2019, in the Khayaban-i-Bukhari area of Defence Housing Authority (DHA).
The court also ordered the convict to pay Rs500,000 each as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased persons. It also awarded a seven-year sentence to the convict for possessing an illegal weapon.
Regarding the co-accused, Adil Zaman, who had been declared an absconder in the case after escaping following the cancellation of his bail by the Supreme Court’s Karachi registry, the court ordered that the case file remain dormant until he is arrested or appears before the court.
“The ocular account, fully corroborated by the medical, forensic, electronic and circumstantial evidence, forms a complete chain pointing exclusively to the guilt of the accused. While determining the quantum of sentence, I have considered the nature of the offence, its manner of commission, and the aggravating and mitigating circumstances,” the judge observed.
“The evidence establishes that the murders of Khizar Hayat and Mureed Abbas were carefully planned and premeditated. Both victims were lured on the false assurance of settlement of financial disputes and were murdered in a systematic manner within a short span of time.
“The accused deliberately executed his criminal design after sufficient preparation, ruling out any plea of sudden provocation or loss of self-control. The calculated deception, commission of two murders in one continuous transaction, and complete disregard for human life constitute overwhelming aggravating circumstances, leaving no mitigating factor to justify a lesser sentence,” the order added.
The court held that the material available on record suggested that accused Atif had planned the murders.
It further observed that the alleged tyre business had been projected as an investment opportunity through which several people were induced to invest money with the promise of regular returns. Although the prosecution had not produced documentary evidence to conclusively establish the exact nature of the business model, the consistent oral testimony indicated that numerous investors had entrusted their money to the accused, and disputes arose after payments were withheld, the court noted.
The court further noted that the deceased appeared to be among those seeking the return of their investments, adding that instead of resolving the dispute through lawful means, the prosecution alleged that the accused resorted to violence to silence those demanding repayment.
The court added that, based on the prosecution’s case, the financial arrangement appeared to bear the characteristics of a fraudulent investment trap, commonly described as a Ponzi-type scheme, in which returns were promised to attract investors but eventually became unsustainable, leading to serious disputes.
During the trial, Advocate Nasir argued that due to financial disputes, Atif executed a calculated plan by first luring Hayat to Bukhari Commercial under the false pretext of returning a massive debt. He highlighted the unimpeachable eyewitness accounts of the deceased’s brother and manager, who watched from a parked car as Atif signalled Hayat over from his Toyota Fortuner and shot him at point-blank range, before his brother Adil actively facilitated their joint escape on a motorbike.
The counsel further argued that the horror did not stop there; Atif deployed the same financial trap to lure Abbas and surviving victim Umar Rehan to his office in the Lulusar Building.
According to state prosecutor Shakeel Ahmed Abbasi, on July 9, 2019, Atif and co-accused Adil called Hayat on the pretext of collecting his outstanding payment. However, when the deceased reached a location near a café in DHA Phase VI, the accused allegedly opened fire and murdered him.
The prosecutor further stated that later the same night, the accused similarly called Abbas and asked him to come to his office in Phase VI. When Abbas arrived there, Atif allegedly opened fire on him, who died on the spot.
Two separate FIRs were registered at the Darakhshan police station under Sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 23 (i) A of the Sindh Arms Act.
Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2026