The government does not seem to be interested in pursuing cases against the chief of the outlawed Peoples Amn Committee Uzair Baloch and his co-accused as an anti-terrorism court has closed the prosecution’s side in as many as six cases pertaining to murder, police encounter and possession of illicit weapons and explosives over its failure to produce witnesses to testify against them.
Baloch, along with Amin Buledi, Zakir Dada, Zubair Baloch, Muhammad Shahid alias MCB, Muhammad Ramzan, Abdul Ghaffar alias Ghaffar Mama and Mulla Nisar, has been charged with engaging in an encounter with law enforcers and attacking them with firearms and hand grenades during a 2012 operation in Lyari.
When the cases came up for hearing before the ATC-XII judge, who is conducting the trial in the judicial complex inside the jail, no prosecution witness was in attendance. Taking exception to the “pathetic prosecution”, the judge closed its side in these cases. “For safe dispensation of justice coupled with the factum of tenacity of illegal practice adopted by prosecution for lingering on instant cases”, the judge said, it was incumbent on the court to close the side of the prosecution.
Usually, it is the prosecution that rests its case after all its witnesses are examined, after which the court records the statements of accused persons under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code, explained a lawyer who wished not to be named. He added that since the prosecution was dragging its feet to produce witnesses, the court had to close its side and proceed with the matter because it was under an obligation to immediately dispose of cases involving under-trial prisoners (UTPs) who have been behind bars for three years.
In December last year, the Sindh High Court had written a letter to the presiding officers of anti-terrorism, accountability, anti-corruption and CNS courts, conveying the directions issued by the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJMPC) in its meeting held on December 9, 2022, for expeditious disposal of cases.
“Directions may be issued to all the presiding officers to ensure the immediate disposal of cases of UTPs who are confined for 5 or more years and also the cases of UTPs confined for 3 years be decided within a period of 3 months,” reads the letter, a copy of which is available with The News.
Uzair Baloch, Zubair, Mulla Nisar and Zakir Dada are in judicial custody, while Shahid, Ameen Buledi, Ramzan have been granted bail in the present cases. In August 2022, the court had dismissed the bail application of Uzair Baloch in the six cases.
The cases were registered at the Kalakot police station under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 302 (murder), 324 (attempted murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 395 (dacoity), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to amount of one hundred rupees), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and sections 3 and 4 of the Explosives Act read with Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
Uzair Baloch had been nominated in around 60 cases related to murder, abduction, attacks on law enforcers, extortion, encounter and terrorism. However, he had already been acquitted in over 20 criminal cases for lack of evidence.