ATC reserves verdict on key suspect Swati’s bail plea

An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the bail petition of Rahim Swati, one of the accused persons in the Perween Rahman murder case, Geo News reported.

Rahman, who was the director of the Orangi Pilot Project, was gunned down by four men in an attack near the Banaras flyover in Orangi Town in March 2013. She was a vocal activist working against the land and water mafia in the city.

Swati, who was arrested after a shootout in Sultanabad in May 2016, was presented before the court as the hearing went under way. Reserving the verdict on Swati’s bail petition, the judge said it would be announced on August 3. The court has declared absconders Noor Muhammad and Ahsanuddin in the trial.

Rahman was a vocal activist working to protect low-income communities from the land and water mafia. A day after her killing, police claimed to have killed the alleged suspect, Qari Bilal, in an encounter. Later, in 2014, the Supreme Court ordered a fresh probe after it was alleged that police mishandled the investigation.

In 2016, the Sindh Police claimed to have arrested prime suspect in the case, Swati. The police have since claimed to have arrested several more suspects in the case. Rahman’s family and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan had petitioned the apex court to help ascertain the real motive behind the killing and police negligence.

In February this year, the Supreme Court had vowed to go to any extent for justice in the Rehman murder case. On Feb 24, the Sindh government formed a new JIT to ascertain the motive for Rahman's murder and examine the role of police officers who reportedly helped the accused.

JIT report

The Joint Investigation Team termed the land mafia the “clearest beneficiaries” of the prominent social activist's murder.

In a report submitted to the Supreme Court, members of the JIT said Rehman and her organisation made it “more difficult to grab the land” by documenting informal settlements in Karachi’s downtrodden outskirts.