Political worker jailed for four years in illicit weapons case

A court on Wednesday sentenced a man to four years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs30,000 on him in a case pertaining to possession of illicit arms. 

Muhammad Suleman, said to be an activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police in 2014 and a charge sheet against him was submitted to the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (South). 

The court at yesterday’s hearing observed that the prosecution had succeeded to prove charges against the accused and, subsequently, he was convicted under the law of prohibition of possessing illegal arms. Suleman, who had been on bail, was present before the court and as soon his conviction was announced, police took him into custody and sent to the central prison.  

Graft case

An accountability court (AC) fixed September 27 to hear a corruption reference against a former secretary of the Women Development Department, Badar Jameel Mendhro, and others.

The attorney for Mendhro requested the court to grant further time for submission of a reply to counter the allegations levelled by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against his client.

The court accepted the defence lawyer’s plea and fixed September 27 to entertain the reply to be submitted on behalf of the former secretary, who along with others is alleged to have committed massive corruption and bought expensive properties.

The anti-graft agency had filed a reference in March 2016 against the former secretary and other officials of the Women Development Department, accusing them of committing huge misappropriation of funds. 

According to the prosecution, Mendhro had minted millions of rupees along with other officials, including Shehbaz Soomro, Muhammad Farooq and Faheemudidn.  As the reference was filed in the court, Mendhro and Soomro had obtained interim bail. However, co-accused Muhammad Farooq and Faheemuddin were declared absconders. Now, the counsel once again has been granted time to submit a reply at the next hearing.  

Amjad Sabri murder case

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) hearing the Amjad Sabri murder case against two alleged Lashakar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) terrorists, Ishaq alias Bobby and Asim alias Capri, ordered the jail authorities to produce the accused before the court at the next hearing on September 19.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered trying the two men, allegedly involved in high-profile killings, before a court housed inside the city’s central jail. 

According to police, the two men during interrogation admitted to their involvement in 20 target killings over the past year, including the murder of five people at a majlis in Nazimabad No. 4 on October 29.

They also confessed to lobbing a grenade on a majlis in FC Area on October 17, killing an 11-year-old boy injuring a dozen other people.

The two accused further admitted that they had gunned down two Military Police personnel near the Saddar Parking Plaza on July 26, renowned qawwal Amjad Sabri on June 23, and two traffic police officers at Ayesha Manzil on May 21.

The alleged terrorists are believed to be involved in the murder of seven policemen who were deployed to protect polio vaccinators in Orangi Town on April 20.

They had killed two Military Police personnel near Tibet Centre on December 1, 2015, four Rangers personnel in Ittehad Town on November 20, 2015, and Advocate Syed Ameer Haider of the Supreme Court at Hassan Square on August 29 last year.

They had murdered four policemen in Korangi G-Area, three policemen in Bangoria Goth, Azizabad, a policeman in Karimabad, two policemen near Minaar Chowk, Bahadurabad, and two policemen in Hyderi Market.

Besides, they allegedly killed two Shia community members in Tori Bangash, Orangi Town, a man and his son of the Shia community in Raees Umrao Colony, Orangi Town, and two other members of the community in Nazimabad and Sabri Chowk.

CTD official Khattab said the arrested men were affiliated with the LeJ’s Naeem Bukhari group. After the arrest of their commander Naeem Bukhari, they met Saleh Rehmani, Bukhari’s cousin, who provided them with weapons and explosive material. After receiving the weapons, they went underground for some time and travelled to Wadh, Baluchistan, where a man named Maaz gave them shelter.

The two men disclosed that learning from the past they had turned their group into smaller ones comprising two individuals for terrorist activities.