An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has acquitted a man, believed to be a former sector in-charge of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), over lack of evidence in a case pertaining to the murder of a policeman.
Shabbir Ahmed alias Farhan Mulla was exonerated from the charge of the murder of police constable Ehsan in an alleged targeted attack within the limits of the Al-Falah police station in 2006.
The ATC-XVI judge announced the verdict he had reserved after recording evidence and final arguments from defence and prosecution sides. He remarked that the prosecution failed to bring on record evidence to prove the charge against the accused. He directed officials of the Karachi Central Jail to set him free forthwith if his custody was not required in any other case.
The Rangers had arrested Shabbir Ahmed and several other MQM workers during an early morning raid on the party’s Nine Zero headquarters in Azizabad on March 11, 2015. Special public prosecutor Muhammad Tariq had contended that Ahmed, who was said to be sector in-charge of the MQM, had during interrogation revealed that he was involved in the murder of the cop.
However, the accused in his statement recorded under the Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code denied the accusations levelled against him. An FIR was lodged against him under sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) read with Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the Al-Falah police station on behalf of the state.