Prosecution told to produce witness in Arshad Pappu murder case

An anti-terrorism court directed on Tuesday the prosecution to produce a former investigating officer of the Arshad Pappu murder case to record his statement against alleged Lyari kingpin Uzair Baloch and others.

Uzair Baloch, chief of outlawed Peoples Amn Committee, former Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Shahjahan Baloch, Muhammad Yousuf, Zakir alias Dada, Akram Baloch and Zubair Baloch have been accused of kidnapping and murdering their rival Arshad Pappu, his brother Yasir Arafat and a confidant Jumma Shera in 2013.

As the case came up for hearing before the ATC-X in the judicial complex inside the central prison, the detained accused -- Uzair Baloch, Zakir and Zubair – were produced before it while Akram, Yousuf and Shahjahan showed up on bail. No prosecution witness was in attendance. The court issued a fresh summon to DSP Abid Hussain Ansari, first investigating officer of the case, through the SSP concerned to appear in the court on the next date. The Rangers special prosecutor, Rana Khalid Hussain, was also told to produce the witness at the next hearing set for June 24.

Ansari had recorded Uzair Baloch’s purported confessional statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and got his identification conducted after his arrest. The court will also likely take up on the next date co-accused Akram Baloch’s application seeking his acquittal under Section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code as well as a bail application of Zubair.

An FIR was lodged under sections at the Kalakot police station under sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder), 302 (premeditated murder), 109 (abetment), and 297 (trespassing on burial places).