NBWs against five of his co-accused issued again; IO also ordered to produce them in court for the second time
By our correspondents
November 24, 2015
Karachi An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday put off the hearing of a case pertaining to providing shelter to and assisting criminals registered against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) senior leader Amir Khan, till December 15. Non-bailable arrest warrants against five of his absconding co-accused were issued yet again; the IO was also for the second time ordered to produce the absconders at the next hearing. The accused were identified as Minhaj Qazi, Imran Ejaz, Raees Mama, Shehzad Mullah and Naeem Mullah. Currently on bail, Khan had strictly adhered to court’s order with respect to him personally appearing before the court on every hearing. He was also not permitted to leave the country without the intimation or permission of the court. Arrested during a pre-dawn raid at the party headquarters, Nine Zero, on March 11, Khan was granted bail by the ATC (II) after submission of surety bonds worth Rs1 million. He had initially been handed over to the Rangers on a 90-day remand and was later sent to the custody of Azizabad police station where the cases against him were registered. Following his bail, an ATC had also permitted, on August 17, him to perform Hajj. The court had directed Khan to submit two surety bonds each worth Rs1 million and warned him of the amount getting confiscated if he failed to return in a month. The Sindh High Court (SHC) had on November 7 issued a notice to provincial advocate and prosecutor generals on a Rangers petition challenging Khan’s bail. The law officer of the paramilitary force had alleged that the MQM leader himself as well other members arrested in the raid, admitted that he was in-charge of the headquarter’s security and he had along with the five absconders provided shelter to terrorism suspects and convicts, and had been using them for terrorist activities. Aggrieved with the ATC’s order, Deputy Superintendent of Rangers Mohammad Riaz submitted in the application that the trial court had ordered the release of the under-trial MQM leader on bail without appreciating the facts of the case, or considering police reports and other relevant evidence which were presented to the court. The Rangers’ prosecutor had earlier informed the court that there was considerable information about the MQM leader’s involvement in criminal activities and target killings. The provincial advocate general and prosecutor general are to submit their comments with respect to the application on December 1.
