Son of main accused says charges are false

Rahim Swati’s son records statement before ATC judge; arrested Indian fishermen sent on judicial remand

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday recorded the statement of Salman Swati, the son of Rahim Swati who is the main accused in the murder of Orangi Pilot Project director Perween Rahman.

According to Salman’s statement, the police’s claims that they found explosive material from his father’s possession were false. He said his father, Rahim, had surrendered voluntarily and was not arrested following an encounter. 

Referring to a memory card, Salman said that proof of his claims lay in footage stored in the memory card.

He further alleged that his brothers were arrested and victimised for no reason and reiterated that the case filed against his father was false. The court put off the hearing till April 14.

Two other accused of the case, Noor Muhammad and Ahsanuddin, have been declared proclaimed offenders in the murder case.

Rahim, the prime suspect, was arrested in May last year and has been indicted in several cases relating to Perween Rahman’s murder. However, he denied all charges and plead not guilty. The court is now hearing statements of witnesses in the murder case.

Perween a renowned architect was gunned down near her office in Orangi Town on March 13, 2013.

Indian fishermen

As many as 104 Indian fishermen arrested a day ago were produced before a local court on Monday which ordered to send them to the prison on a judicial remand.

An official of the Docks police station, where the arrested fishermen were kept prior to being produced in court, informed the judge that the violators had crossed into Pakistan’s marine territory. Some 19 wooden boats belonging to the fishermen were also seized.

The court of the civil judge, Salman Mujahid, ordered to confine the Indian fishermen at the central prison on judicial remand and also directed the Investigation Officer (IO) to submit a charge-sheet against the accused at the next hearing.

After the incident, security of maritime borders has been tightened further. It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan released 219 captured Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture back in January.

Following the arrests, security of maritime borders was further tightened further. Pakistan had in January this year released 219 captured Indian fishermen as a gesture of goodwill.