Warrants issued for Altaf, six others in PSP workers’ killingcase

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday again issued non-bailable arrest warrants for seven people, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founding chief Altaf Hussain, in the murder case of two political activists belonging to the Pak Sarzameen Party.

Two PSP workers, Naeem Ramzan and Azhar Rehmatullah, were killed and two others, Fahad Hussain and Muhammad Yasir, were injured when armed pillion riders fired at a PSP office in the Rizvia Society area on December 23. The ATC-XIV judge ordered police to arrest Altaf, Asif Hasnain Siddiqui, Muhammad Jameel, Muhammad Asad Khan, Muhammad Saleem, Junaid and Bisma Naz, and present them in court on August 3. In case they did not surrender or the police could not arrest them, the court is likely to order the police to start the procedure for declaring them proclaimed offenders under the criminal procedure code on the next hearing. Nine people have already been arrested by the police in connection with the murders.

They include Syed Raza Ali, Qazi Anisur Rehman, Sheharyar, Rehman, Mohsin Ahmed, Ghufran Ahmed, Zameeruddin, Tanzeem Ahmed Khan and Syed Waqas Haider. The case was lodged on the complaint of Fahad who was injured in the firing and on his pointing out, four more people, Nadeem Ehsan, Faizan Yusuf, Qasim Ali Raza and Taravish, who belong to the pro-Altaf faction of the MQM, were implicated in the case for allegedly planning the attack. The FIR of the incident was registered under sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempt to murder), 109 (punishment of abetment), 111 (liability or abettor), 112 (abettor when liable to cumulative punishment), 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) and 34 (common intention) 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.