KARACHI, April 23: An additional district and sessions court, south, on Wednesday acquitted a former provincial minister, Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh, and others in a double murder case as the prosecution failed to produce any solid evidence in court to prove the involvement of the accused in the crime.
Judge Mohammad Azeem earlier recorded arguments from both sides on an acquittal plea moved by the defence counsel under Section 265-K (power of the court to acquit an accused at any stage) of the Criminal Procedure Code. Observing that the prosecution failed to prove the involvement of Imtiaz Shaikh, Agha Asghar Ali and Ateeq Ahmed Siddiqui in the case, the judge acquitted them.
According to the prosecution, the complainant, Zafar Iqbal, Mohammad Rafiq, Yasir Mehmood and Mohammad Saleem were travelling in a car (ABQ-571) when some armed men intercepted them near Korangi Crossing and opened fire on the vehicle on March 31, 2005. The complainant and his three associates, who came under attack, were later rushed to hospital. However, Mohammad Rafiq and Mohammad Saleem succumbed to their wounds during treatment.
A case (FIR No 84/2005) was later registered under Sections 302, 324 and 104/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code at Defence police station on the complaint of Zafar Iqbal, who alleged that he and his friends had been attacked at the behest of Imtiaz Shaikh and Agha Asghar Ali.
The co-accused, Pervez, Zafar Ali, Zafarullah and Majeed Sindhi, were declared absconders in the case, while Nasir Mehmood, Imran Raza, Mohammad Zakir, Saleem Awan and Imran got bail from the court.
Illegal immigration
The additional district and sessions judge, south, Irfan Hussain, sentenced a Bangladeshi national to three years in jail for residing illegally in Pakistan.
The judge also imposed a fine of Rs2,000 and ordered further imprisonment in case of non-payment for three more months. Besides, the court directed the authorities concerned to expel him from the country on the completion of the jail term.
According to the prosecution, Manzoor-ul-Islam had entered Pakistan without any legal documents and had been illegally residing here since1985. Police arrested him in 2006 and registered a case against him under the Emigration Ordinance 1979 at the Mithadar police station.
Boiler blast case
The hearing of the boiler blast case, meanwhile, was put off on Wednesday since the judge was on leave.
Nine people had died and 25 others wounded when a boiler of a towel-dyeing and bleaching factory in New Karachi exploded on July 24, 2007. A case (FIR 359/07) was registered against the factory owner and the boiler operator at the Taimuria police station.
The factory owner, Akhtar Hussain Baloch, and boiler operator Mohammad Ahsanullah were indicted on a charge of manslaughter.
The next hearing of the case has been fixed for May 7.
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