17 ‘extortionists, hitmen’ arrested

Karachi
The Sindh Rangers arrested 17 suspects during search operations in different areas of the city, as per a statement issued by the paramilitary force on Thursday.
The raids, according to the statement, were carried out in areas including Bilal Colony, Lyari, Ilyas Goth and Kharadar. The suspects were said to include target killers, extortionists and gang war criminals. Weapons and explosives were also said to have been recovered and all suspects have been shifted to an undisclosed location for further interrogation.
Remands
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) endorsed an apprehension order presented by the Rangers to keep three men, said to be involved in target killings, under detention for 90 days.
The three suspects - Imran, Shahid and Nasir - who were produced by the Rangers before the court were described to be activists of a certain political party and were accused of involvement in target killings and extortion.
The court was told that the three needed to be kept under detention for 90 days to be interrogated thoroughly. A Rangers' law officer submitted that the three accused were arrested under Section 11-EEEE of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 after the Rangers had gathered information about their involvement in heinous crimes.

Jail term awarded
A convict, Shoaib, was jailed for 24 years by an ATC in an illegal weapons and explosives case. Shoaib was arrested last year within the New Karachi police limits. The court ruled that the prosecution had proved the charges against Shoaib and awarded the jail term.

Cop killer jailed
Two convicts Inam Elahi and Qurban Ali were awarded 35 years’ imprisonment respectively for murdering a policeman; while a third accomplice was sentenced for seven years'.
The ATC concerned also imposed a fine of Rs130,000 on the three convicts, the failure to pay which would result in an additional six-month imprisonment.
The three convicts had killed a policeman, Shahid, on September 19, 2009 within the jurisdiction of the New Karachi Industrial Area police station.

Illegal weapons case
An activist of the Jeay Sindh Mahaz (JSM), Nadir Ali, was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment for possession of unlicensed weapons and explosive materials by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday.
A fine of Rs30,000 was also imposed on the convict.
The anti-terrorism court (ATC) which handed down the punishment, observed the prosecution had proven the accusations effectively.
He was arrested from an area, lying within the jurisdiction of the Steel Town police station, last year.