SHC dismisses MQM activists’ appeals against conviction in illegal weapons case

The Sindh High Court on Monday dismissed appeals of Muttahida Qaumi Movement activists against their convictions in cases of possession of illegal weapons seized during a raid on the party headquarter Nine-Zero, but it upheld their acquittals by the trial court in possession of explosive material.

MQM activists Abid, Faisal Mehmood, Shakeel, Syed Kazim Raza, Shabbir Ahmed, Amir Ali and others were sentenced to six to 10 years’ in prison for possessing illegal weapons seized during the March 11, 2015, raid. The trial court had however acquitted them of possession of explosive material for want of evidence.

Both appellants and state had filed appeals against the convictions and acquittals by the trial court. The appellants’ counsel submitted that the MQM activists were falsely implicated in the cases by the Rangers due to their affiliation with the political party, and actually two appellants were arrested at the time of the raid. They said the prosecution failed to prove the charges against the appellants and the alleged weapons were foisted upon them by the Rangers. They requested the court to acquit them of charges of possession of illegal weapons.

The additional prosecutor general said the prosecution proved its case against the appellants and they were arrested with unlicensed weapons as well explosive substance, and requested the court to enhance their sentences in the illegal weapons possession case and also convict them on possession of explosive substance charges.

A high court division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha, after hearing the arguments of the case and perusal of the evidence, observed that the prosecution proved its case against the appellants with regard to the recovery and possession of illegal weapons and dismissed the appeals of the appellants.

Regarding the state appeals against the acquittals of MQM activists in explosive substance possession case, the court observed that the trial court had rightly acquitted the appellants of the charges as there was no logic that the appellants would have had a bomb which was useless without a launcher, and no launcher was seized from the appellants during the raid. It dismissed the state appeals against the acquittals of MQM activists as the prosecution failed to prove charges.