Warrants out for Altaf, six others in PSP workers’ murder case

An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of seven people, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain, in a case pertaining to the murder of two Pak Sarzameen Party activists.

PSP workers Naeem Ramzan and Azhar Rehmatullah, were killed and as many, Fahad Hussain and Muhammad Yasir, were injured in firing by motorcycle pillion riders at their party office in the Rizvia Society neighborhood on December 23, 2018.

The ATC-XIV judge ordered police to arrest Hussain, Asif Hasnain Siddiqui, Muhammad Jameel, Muhammad Asad Khan, Muhammad Saleem, Junaid and Bisma Naz and present them before court at the next hearing.

These persons have already been declared proclaimed offenders. Nine people have already been arrested by police in connection with the murders. They are: Syed Raza Ali, Qazi Anisur Rehman, Sheharyar, Rehman, Mohsin Ahmed, Ghufran Ahmed, Zameeruddin, Tanzeem Ahmed Khan and Syed Waqas Haider. The court is also likely to indict the arrested suspects on the next date.

The case was lodged on the complaint of Fahad, who was injured in the firing and on his pointation four more people, Nadeem Ehsan, Faizan Yusuf, Qasim Ali Raza and Taravish, who belong to the pro-Altaf faction of the MQM, have been implicated in the case for allegedly planning the attack.

Three witnesses have already identified five of the arrested suspects, Syed, Rehman, Sheharyar, Mohsin, and Qazi, as killers during an identification parade in the court of the District Central judicial magistrate XIII.

The charge sheet against them reads that they confessed to their crime and told the investigators that the attack was carried out on the instructions of leaders of the MQM’s South African and Indian setups.

The FIR of the incident was registered under sections 302, 324, 109, 111, 112, 114 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 read with sections 7 and 21(i) of the Anti Terrorism Act 1997 at the Rizvia Society police station.