Man gets death penalty for murdering navy policeman

Arrest warrant issued against prosecution witness in Zahra Shahid murder case

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has awarded capital punishment to a man involved in the murder of a navy policeman during an attempted robbery back in 2014.

The court noted on Monday that the prosecution had proved the murder case against Muhammad Yasir but had failed to prove any of the charges against his alleged accomplice Muneer, who was acquitted from the case. The ATC also sentenced Yasir to 10 years in prison for robbery.

On April 30, 2014, a security guard belonging to the Pakistan Navy was gunned down in an attack on the car of a senior navy officer in Defence Phase II. Police claimed that the incident was not a target killing but a robbery attempt.

Thirty-five-year-old Fayyaz Qayyum was wounded in the attack and was pronounced dead on arrival at the PNS Shifa hospital. Resident of Sultanabad in Karachi, the victim hailed from Abbottabad, KP.

Zahra Shahid case

Another ATC expressed displeasure over the “lethargic” role of state attorneys in the Zahra Shahid murder case and issued an arrest warrant against a prosecution witness for failing to record his statement in court.

The court fixed January 26 as the date to hear the case again and ordered producing the prosecution witness in the next hearing.

The ATC-VIII, headed by Imdad Ali Khoso, noted that the prosecution witness, a government employee, had failed to appear in court despite repeatedly being issued with summons.

The state attorneys were directed to assist the court in the literal sense and ensure that the prosecution witness is brought in to record his statement.

Muhammad Rashid, alias Master, Zahid Abbas Zaidi, Irfan, alias Lamba, and Kaleem are on trial for the murder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh senior vice-president Zahra Shahid.

She was killed outside her residence by two motorcyclists in the upmarket Defence Housing Authority locality on May 18, 2013, on the eve of re-election at 43 polling stations in the NA-250 constituency, where the atmosphere had remained tense for several days.

Police initially said it was apparently an act of mugging and street crime, as the armed suspects “tried to snatch a purse from Zahra Shahid”, who was in her 60s, and, on resistance, fired a single shot under her chin, killing her instantly.

However, the police subsequently said they were investigating the matter further in the light of statements claiming that it was a target killing.