Safoora attack accused gets acquittal in another case

A local court on Saturday acquitted Saad Aziz in yet another case pertaining to charges of attempted murder that was registered at the Gizri police station.

Aziz was accused of having opened fire on and injuring a citizen in 2015. However, as the prosecution failed to prove the charges, the relevant district & sessions judge ordered his acquittal.

The man is believed to be a terrorist associated with al Qaeda. He and other co-accused were awarded death sentences by a military court that tried the 2015 Safoora bus attack case.

Two anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) have already acquitted Aziz in as many cases pertaining to charges of attempted murder, attacking police officials and terrorist activities due to lack of evidence against him.

The prosecution had claimed that he was accused of having attacked a police party in the Samanabad area on June 3, 2015, but since the prosecution failed to prove the charges, the court announced his acquittal.

Aziz has also been acquitted of the attack on a British educationist, who had failed to identify him as an attacker. The accused was tried by a court housed at the central prison. Aziz and Tahir Hussain Minhas, alias Saaein, were also acquitted of the 2015 bomb attack on a school in the city’s North Nazimabad locality. Minhas was also convicted in the Safoora bus attack case and awarded the death penalty.

Meanwhile, an ATC expressed its displeasure with the Hyderabad central jail superintendent for his failure to produce Jundullah terrorist Qasim Toori in court and issued the official with a notice.

The court directed the relevant authorities to ensure the production of Toori, who is accused of attacking the then corps commander Ahsan Saleem Hayat in 2006. He is also said to have attacked the Saudabad police station in 2007.