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Friday March 29, 2024

Saud, Khurram petition for bail

By Faisal Kamal Pasha
September 21, 2017

Rawalpindi :A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) here Tuesday issued notices to the prosecution of the Benazir Bhutto murder case in a matter where former DIG Saud Aziz and SSP Khurram Shehzad were seeking bails after arrest.

Both the high ranking police officials are detained at Adiala Jail following August 31 judgement of an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) that convicted them under section 119 and 201 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

LHC Rawalpindi Bench comprising Justice Muhammad Tariq Abbasi and Justice Habib Ullah Amir issued notices to the prosecution and adjourned hearing in this matter till September 27. In their bail petitions, former DIG Syed Saud Aziz and former SSP Khurram Shehzad have nominated state and inspector Kashif Riaz as respondents who is complainant in this case.

Saud Aziz in his bail petition adopted that on December 27, 2007, at the time of unfortunate incident of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, he was serving as City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi. After almost three and a half years of the said incident, he was asked by the court to appear and face the trial. After trial, petitioner was awarded 10-year rigorous imprisonment with half a million fine under section 119 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and 7-year rigorous imprisonment and half a million fine under section 201.

The petitioner said that he already impugned this judgment before the court. He submitted that he has been made a scapegoat. Neither was he nominated in the FIR nor was he arrayed as an accused by the investigation agencies. The petitioner said that the main set of accused who were alleged to have planned the assassination and got the same executed have been acquitted by the trial court. Importantly, ATC in its paragraph 23 of the judgment said that the conspiracy did not stand proved. It is highly surprising that on the one hand, trial court is disbelieving the idea of a conspiracy while on the other hand, it concludes that the petitioner was an active part of such design pertaining to the commission of offence. The petitioner contended that if there was no conspiracy, how come the petitioner was an active part of it.

Petitioner prayed to the court to suspend the sentence and he may be released on bail. SSP Khurram Shehzad also made same contentions before the court and prayed to suspend the judgment and release him on bail.