Court accepts charge-sheet against suspect in journalist’s murder case

FBR inspector remanded in judicial custody

Karachi

An anti-terrorism court accepted on Monday a charge-sheet against a man accused of killing journalist Aftab Alam.

It was stated in the charge-sheet that Zeeshan Haider Zaidi was one of the men who had killed journalist Aftab Alam in North Karachi on September 9.

The court in its order observed that the charge-sheet was being accepted and now the evidence of the prosecution witnesses would be produced in the next hearing.

The investigation officer of the case said Zaidi had confessed to killing Alam and several other citizens.

Following the murder, DIG West Feroz Shah had said Alam was targeted outside his home in 11-C area of North Karachi when he was leaving to pick up his children from school.

Shah said the incident appeared to have been properly planned as the two attackers riding a motorcycle fired a single shot which hit Alam in the head – a signature method used by target-killers. 

The injured journalist was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors had pronounced him dead.

The Sindh police had rounded up four suspects for their alleged involvement in the assassination of the senior journalist.

At a press conference, SSP Amir Farooqui had said identified them as Zeeshan Haider Zaidi, Suleman, Shah Jee and Adeel and said they were affiliated with a banned outfit, the Sipah-e-Mohammad's Manzar Imam group.

He said the suspects were also planning to murder the owner of a Biryani shop in Surjani Town.

The official had further said the arrested men were receiving overseas funding.

The SSP had also pointed out that Zaidi was an employee of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.

Separately, an accountability court remanded a Federal Board of Revenue inspector, Mumtaz Ali, in judicial custody.

Ali is being tried in the accountability court-IV for allegedly misappropriating million of rupees through fake invoices. Presiding officer Saad Qureshi ordered on Monday to keep Ali detained at the central prison.