KARACHI, Feb 18: An anti-terrorism court reserved on Wednesday judgment in a kidnapping for ransom case. After hearing the final arguments from the prosecution and the defence counsel , Judge Arshad Noor Khan of the ATC-3 fixed Feb 23 for the pronouncement of judgment.

Mubeen Ahmed has been tried for kidnapping Syed Adnan Ali Hashmi for ransom. His maternal nephew, Farrukh Ali Siddiqui, has been declared absconder. According to the prosecution, absconding accused Siddiqui kidnapped his 20-year-old friend on Dec 12, 2003 and kept him in the house of his maternal uncle in Sabir Colony. Later, the victim was released after the payment of Rs350,000.

It was alleged that Furrukh Ali Siddiqui and victim Syed Adnan Ali Hashmi were friends and studying at a computer institute. The accused called the victim at Nazimabad on the pretext of arranging a job for him and then kidnapped him.

The accused allegedly called the victim's family by the mobile phone of the victim and initially demanded Rs4 million for his release. However, later the accused agreed to accept Rs350,000 after a series of negotiation with the victim's sister, Amna, who handed over the ransom money to the kidnapper near Nihal Hospital, Kala Board, on the National Highway.

Special public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa prayed the court to award the capital punishment to the accused as the prosecution had "successfully" proved its case beyond any reasonable doubt.

Defence counsel Mohammed Khalid Khan prayed the court to acquit his client as the case of prosecution was full of contradictions. The defence attorney said the accused was innocent and he had nothing to do with the kidnapping of the boy. He contended that the police implicated Mubeen in the case after he failed to locate his absconding nephew as demanded by the police.