KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court in Karachi on Monday sentenced four men to life imprisonment on two counts in a case pertaining to the murder of former Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Syed Ali Raza Abidi.
Former MQM lawmaker Abidi was shot dead outside Karachi's Defence Housing Authority (DHA) residence in December 2018.
Mohammad Farooq, Abdul Haseeb, Mohammad Ghazali and Abu Bakar were found guilty of facilitating, aiding and abetting the absconding accused, who killed the MQM leader.
The ATC judge, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the prison, pronounced the verdict after hearing arguments from both the defence and prosecution sides.
The judge sentenced the accused to life imprisonment twice, one for the offence of abetment and the other for the act of terrorism.
They were also ordered to pay Rs100,000 each as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased. Upon failure to pay the fine, they would have to undergo an additional six-month imprisonment.
“The evidence shows that all the accused persons in the furtherance of their common intention are involved in the commission of murder of Syed Ali Raza Abidi and they are equally responsible for the act,” observed the judge.
State prosecutor Ghulam Abbas Dalwani contended that the four accused had facilitated the absconders in committing the murder of the ex-MQM leader on December 25, 2018. He said there was sufficient evidence on record to support the prosecution case, pleading with the judge to punish the accused as per the law.
The absconding accused, Bilal, Hasnain, Ghulam Mustafa alias Kali Charan, and Faizan have been declared proclaimed offenders.
The judge put the case against them on dormant file till their arrest or surrender before the court.
An FIR was lodged under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 on the complaint of the victim’s father Akhlaq Abidi at the Gizri police station. Later, the section related to abetment was incorporated in the case.