ATC seeks witnesses in Chaudhry Aslam murder case

An anti-terrorism court on Friday directed the investigation officer of the SP Chaudhry Aslam murder case to ensure that the witnesses were produced at the next hearing.

The ATC judge ordered the IO to ensure the presence of the prosecution witnesses on November 26 as the trail had been facing a hiatus over their absence. So far, the testimonies of 26 witnesses have been recorded.

The two of the accused, Ubaid alias Aabi and Zafar alias Saien, appeared in custody. The absconding suspects included slain Tehreek-e-Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah. According to the charge sheet, the suspect was arrested on a tip-off and he, during the investigation, confessed to being involved in the murder of SP Muhammad Aslam Khan, alias Chaudhry Aslam.

Khan along with his two guards was killed in a vehicle-borne suicide bombing on the Lyari Expressway on January 9, 2014. The militant group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The case was registered under sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder), 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code and sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act read with section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act at the Pir Illahi Bux Colony police station.

According to the investigators, the attack was carried out at the behest of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan leadership and the suicide bomber, Naeemullah, was a resident of Pirabad, and a militant trained in Afghanistan.