KARACHI, Oct 15: An anti-terrorism appellate (ATA) bench of the High Court of Sindh convicted on Tuesday an accused who was acquitted by an anti-terrorism court for Karachi division.
The ATA bench consisted of Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Husain Jaffery.
Reversing the judgment of the trial court, the ATA bench convicted accused/ respondent Faisal Mushtaq and sentenced him to a total 21 years’ rigorous imprisonment under various sections of different laws.
The convict was also fined Rs25,000 and in default was ordered to undergo a total imprisonment of 18 months.
According to the prosecutions case, respondent/accused Faisal Mushtaq, accompanied by absconder Abrar, hijacked a motorcycle from complainant Manzoor Husain Nomani in the police limits of Shah Faisal Colony on 2-12-1998.
Faisal was arrested the same day and police also recovered a pistol from his possession.
The accused was sent up to stand trial before the ATC IV, then headed by Judge Husain Bux Khoso. The trial court by its judgment on 13-5-1999 acquitted the accused as the identification parade was held after a delay of six days.
The state went into appeal which was decided today.
HEARING PUT OFF: The hearing of a constitutional petition challenging the alleged illegal detention of Fazl-i-Karim, driver of Maulana Sauood Fatani, wanted by the Sindh police in Daniel Pearl kidnapping and murder case, was put off to Oct 29 on Tuesday.
Earlier, a deputy attorney-general and an additional advocate-general Sindh, appearing for the federation and Sindh before a division bench of the Sindh High Court, comprising Chief Justice Sayed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Ghulam Rabbani, submitted that the whereabouts of the alleged detainee could not be ascertained.
Khawaja Naveed Ahmed, advocate, appearing for petitioner Ms Rehana, wife of the alleged detainee, submitted that the officials were suppressing facts and the detainee was in the custody of the respondents as he was picked up by law- enforcers, who raided the house of the petitioner and whisked him away.
The court once again directed the counsel for the state to find out the whereabouts of the alleged detainee and to call a report from the ministry of interior and the Sindh home secretary.
The same bench also put off the hearing of a constitutional petition filed by a student, impugning a showcause notice issued by the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi to the petitioner for cancelling his certificate.
The BIEK informed the petitioner that he had passed Intermediate examination in 1990, then reappeared in 1992 and again in 1994. He secured admission to NED University of Engineering and Technology on the basis of the result in 1994.
The petitioner impugned the notification and a bench of the SHC, consisting of Justice Abdul Hafeez Memon and Justice Nazim Husain Siddiqui, granted a stay order. The petition remained pending during the preceding years and when it came up for hearing today, the counsel for the petitioner submitted that his client had passed BE exam and at this stage the impugned notice carried no weight.
The court also observed that when the petitioner had passed BE his degree could not be cancelled.
Rehan Farooqui, appearing for the BIEK, opposed the plea of the petitioner’s counsel.
The court, however, after hearing both the sides, directed the counsel for the petitioner to provide documents substantiating his claim that his client had passed/qualified Bachelor of Engineering. — APP