Four given life term for martyring cops

An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday sentenced four men to life imprisonment and fined Rs1 million each for martyring two police officers in a five-hour-long shootout.

The ATC handed down 25-year-long jail term to Ranjhan, Ahmer, Imran and Allah Wadayo as they were found guilty of martyring DSP Qasim Khan Ghori and ASI Muhammad Asif in an armed clash near the Safari Park in August 2013.

The clash had begun early in the morning between two political groups over a piece of land in Madho Goth, located along University Road. They used firearms against each other. As the police intervened, the groups turned their fire on them.

The gunfight continued till afternoon and culminated in the loss of five lives, including two police officers and three people said to be from the warring groups. Five other policemen, including two SHOs, were wounded in the incident.

According to the prosecution, upon receiving information of the clash, Asif rushed to the scene with a police party and as they reached there, the suspects opened fire on them and the officer was seriously wounded. By the time DSP Ghori reached the spot with reinforcements, Asif was already dead. In the following gunfight, the DSP was also martyred.

The ATC judge directed the convicts to pay a compensation of Rs1 million to the legal heirs of the deceased police officers. After the pronouncement of the verdict, the suspects were sent back to the prison to serve out the remaining sentence.