Waqas Shah case verdict on Aug 1

Karachi 

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday fixed August 1 to announce its verdict in the Waqas Shah murder case, which is being heard against a MQM activist, Asif Ali. The court had earlier rejected the plea of Asif Ali, the alleged killer of MQM worker Waqas Shah, to transfer his case to a regular court from the ATC.

After hearing the arguments of the defence counsel and the state attorneys, the ATC, headed by Farman Ali Kanasro, had concluded that the case was rightly registered under the provisions dealing with the Anti-Terrorism Act and it was fit to be heard by the ATC and not by a subordinate court.

A Rangers’ counsel had strongly opposed the plea of the alleged killer, arguing that the murder came under the ambit of terrorist activities and the accused should be tried before the ATC instead of any subordinate court.

Requesting the court to transfer the case to a regular court, the attorney for the suspect had said that his client had not committed any terrorist activity and the case should not be heard by an ATC.

At a previous hearing, the under detention accused, Asif Ali, had recorded his statement, claiming that the Rangers opened fire to disperse people who had gathered around the MQM headquarters Nine Zero during a Rangers raid on March 11, 2015. 

The accused further claimed that Waqas Shah was killed by Rangers gunshots during the raid. The prosecution, however, underlined that the accused himself had confessed to killing Shah.

As per a Rangers’ statement, the accused was a joint unit in-charage of the Gulistan-e-Jauhar and he had killed Waqas Shah, a member of MQM’s literature committee, during the above mentioned raid.

Representing the Rangers, eye-witness Inspector Irfan had testified that he was a part of the raiding team and he himself had witnessed the killing of Waqas Shah.  He said that accused Asif Ali had pulled out a pistol and fired at the victim.

The prosecution submitted that the official had also rightly picked out the accused as the alleged shooter before a judicial magistrate during an identification parade.

The attorneys, however, had rejected the statement. Upon this, the court had asked them to produce a witness in this regard. The court had been warning the defence attorneys to produce any of the witnesses who could reject the claim of the prosecution about the killing of Waqas Shah by Asif Ali in clear terms with a proof.  The prosecution maintained that the suspect, using a pistol, shot Waqas Shah at a time when the paramilitary force resorted to aerial firing in a bid to disperse the crowd that had converged to protest against the raid.