A sessions court has issued a notice to the prosecution on an acquittal application filed by Kamran Asghar Qureshi, the father of Mustafa Amir murder case prime suspect Armaghan, in cases pertaining to drugs and illicit arms.
On March 20, Qureshi was arrested and booked by the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) in two separate cases over the alleged recovery of drugs and an unlicensed pistol from his possession. He was later booked in another case pertaining to recovery of weapons from his son Armaghan’s house in DHA.
District and Sessions Judge (South) Suresh Kumar recently heard the two cases as Qureshi appeared from jail via video link. Defence counsel Khurram Abbas Awan filed applications on behalf of the accused seeking acquittal under the Section 265-K of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The Section 265-K allows a trial court to acquit an accused at any stage of the trial if there is insufficient evidence to proceed. The counsel contended that there was no likelihood of Qureshi’s conviction in the two cases as the prosecution had no evidence to substantiate its charges against him, requesting the court to acquit him.
The judge issued a notice to the prosecution to forward its arguments on the application. He adjourned the hearing until September 1 and issued summons for prosecution witnesses to record their testimonies.
Two FIRs have been lodged against Qureshi under the relevant sections of the Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Act 2022 and Sindh Arms Act. According to the FIRs, ice packed in two plastic bags and a 9mm pistol were seized from a school bag carried by the suspect.
