Shahrukh Jatoi gets bail in travel document fraud case

Weeks after his death sentence in the Shahzaib Khan murder case was overturned, a local court on Wednesday granted Shahrukh Jatoi bail in a case pertaining to fraudulent travelling documents.

The bail, in the sum of Rs100,000, was granted after the state’s attorney chose to not contest the plea. Among Jatoi’s co-accused in the case were former protocol officer of the Bilawal House, Jatoi’s brother Nawab Ali Jatoi, director of Sikandar Ali Jatoi Group of Companies, Muhammad Khurram, former PIA officials, Mehmood Sultan and Wasi Akhtar, as well as two travel agents, Umar Domki and Abu Bakr Domki. The accused are yet to be indicted in the case.

Shahrukh is said to have committed the fraud in an attempt to flee the country after he was nominated as the prime accused in Khan’s murder case.

Sea View shooting

The District and Sessions Judge (South) adjourned the hearing of an application challenging the grant of Sea View shooting suspect’s remand.

The plea was moved by the attorney of the case’s main accused, Khawar Burney, on grounds of his client being innocent. Burney’s counsel, Advocate Amir Mansoob Qureshi, however, sought more time from the appellate court to study the case.

He has also challenged the interrogation carried out to obtain Burney’s confessional statement. On the other hand, the complainant in the case wants the accused to be tried under the provisions of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, dealing with terrorist activities.

The complainant maintains that the accused had committed a terrorist act by killing an innocent man and injuring another person, and it was fair to try the accused under the cited provisions. He also alleged that the investigation officer did not desire to try the accused before an ATC.

The court, however, directed the IO to present a progress report with respect to the case at the next hearing. Burney is alleged to have opened fire (along with other absconding accused) while chasing a vehicle at the Sea View area on December 3 that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Zafir Zuberi and injuries to a friend of the latter. The IO stated that the police had recovered illegal weapons as well as a vehicle from the possession of the accused.