KARACHI, June 20: An accountability court reserved on Thursday the judgment in a corruption case against a former hockey Olympian, Mansoor Ahmed, and two others.
Judge Rahmat Hussain jafferi of the AC-3, who is also the administrative judge of all ACs in the Karachi division, fixed June 25 for announcement of the judgment after hearing final arguments by the prosecution and the defence.
The case against Mansoor Ahmed, Ayub Tahir and Feroze Ahmed, all former officials of the customs, pertained to the misappropriation of 1,000kg silver from a customs warehouse.
MURDER CASE: An anti-terrorism court reserved the judgment in a sectarian double-murder case against five workers of the banned Sipah-i- Sahaba Pakistan (SSP).
Judge Abdul Ghafoor Memon of the ATC-2 fixed June 25 for announcement of the judgment after hearing final arguments by the prosecution and the defence.
The case against Dilawar Hussain alias Dildar, Rashid alias Rashid Andha, Shahzad Maqsood, Abdul Wasim and Mohammed Saeed Awan alias Saeed Kalia pertained to the murder of a muazzin and a watchman of Askari Imambargah on Feb 9 last year in Joharabad.
The trial of the SSP workers was conducted inside jail after the Sindh government issued a notification to this effect.
However, the judge heard final arguments from the two sides in open court after the three defence counsel for the five accused gave their consent to make their arguments without the presence of their respective clients.
Special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum argued that the prosecution had established its case beyond any shadow of doubt. He contended that an eye- witness, Mohammed Ayub, had identified accused Dildar and Shahzad Maqsood at an identification parade before a judicial magistrate.
Besides, he argued, police had collected eight empties from the place of crime and, according to the report of a ballistic expert, five of them matched with the pistol of Shahzad and three others with that belonging to Dildar.
He contended that accused Rashid also volunteered a confessional statement before a judicial magistrate.
The defence counsel, M. R. Syed, Atique Ahmed and Amir Mansoob, however argued that the prosecution could not prove its case against the accused.
They argued that the confessional statement of one of the accused was extracted under duress and it had no legal value. They also pointed to certain contradictions in the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.
According to the prosecution, another SSP worker, Asif Ramzi, was also involved in the killing of muazzin Imtiaz Hussain and watchman Mohammed Abbas. The court has declared him a proclaimed offender.
BAIL: Syed Amir Haider Kazmi, a leader of the Pakistan People’s Party and a former federal minister, was granted bail before arrest in a case pertaining to firing on MQM camps in 1990.
The former minister, who was booked in six different cases, had been declared an absconding accused since 1991.
The cases were lodged at Brigade, Ferozabad, Saddar, Aziz Bhatti, Pak Colony and Taimuria police stations. Later, all the six case were amalgamated.
The district and sessions judge, Agha Rafique Ahmed, granted Mr Kazmi pre- arrest bail in the sum of Rs100,000.
REFERENCE: An accountability court, headed by Judge Aziz Memon, put off to June 25 the hearing of a corruption reference against Hakim Ali Zardari, former MNA and father of Asif Ali Zardari.
The case pertained to acquiring assets and property, including a house in France, through illegal means.
The judge fixed the next date for hearing final arguments by the prosecution and the defence.