Three MQM leaders, 38 workers sent on one-day police remand

Karachi

Including Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders Qamar Mansoor, Kunwar Naveed and Shahid Pasha, as many as 38 MQM workers were on Thursday handed over to police on a one-day remand.

The suspects, who were produced before an anti-terrorism court (ATC), were allegedly involved in the Monday's attack on a private news channel's office, chanting anti-state slogans and rioting in front of the Karachi Press Club during which a passerby was killed near the Fawara Chowk.

While police officials were taking away the MQM men from the court, they chanted pro-state and pro-army slogans, shouting “Pakistan zindabaad, Pak Army zindabad, DG Rangers zindabad”.

Qadir Patel case

An ATC issued notices to the special public prosecutors and other lawyers for hearing the bail plea of a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Abdul Qadir Patel.

His bail plea was earlier turned down in the terror facilitation case of Dr Asim Hussain by the ATC (II) in July and ordered for his arrest.

The same court had also rejected the bail pleas of four other leaders, including MQM leader and recently elected mayor Waseem Akhtar, senior MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leader Anis Qaimkhani, and they all were remanded to the prison on the court orders.

However, Qadir Patel had gone away from the court and surrendered himself before the police next day. He was later sent to the central prison.

The bail application argued that Qadir Patel had been implicated in a false terror facilitation case due to political purposes. It was further said that Qadir Patel was seriously ill and needed medical treatment and deserved to be granted bail on humanitarian grounds.

Secretariat bombing

An ATC has reserved its ruling in regarding the transfer of the Sindh Secretariat bomb attack case against MQM activists, including Nasir alias Nasir Kajji and Faheem alias Faheem Mirchi.

The accused plead that the case had nothing to do with the provisions of the anti-terrorism act and, therefore, it should be transferred to a regular court.

The court, however, has reserved its ruling on the transfer issue.

It is alleged that Nasir, Faheem, Saeed alias Saeed Bharm, Akhtar and others had attacked the Sindh Secretariat with hand grenades in 1995 that damaged its eight rooms.

Saeed alias Saeed Bharam, Akhtar and two other activists were declared absconding in the police report. The court issued non-bailable warrants of arrest against the four absconding accused.  

Saeed Bharam is already under detention in some other cases. He is alleged to have killed three men in 2003.

Saeed alias Saeed Bharam along with other accused is alleged of killing a factory owners, Muzaffar Ahmed, Amjad Ateeq and Shahid, in the Liaquatabad area in October 2003.

Saeed is facing over 50 cases of target killing and illegal occupation of lands. 

Life imprisonment to killer

An ATC awarded life imprisonment to a killer and extortionist, Saleem alias Dewoda and imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on the convict.

Saleem had killed two men, Zain and Manzoor, at a located in the Mobina Town police limits in 2011 after the shop owners had refused to pay the extortion money. 

His companion and a co-accused in the case, Azmat Khattak, was acquitted due to the benefit of doubt.