‘Daesh terrorist’ acquitted of KE official’s killing

An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday acquitted a man allegedly affiliated with Daesh, Tahir Minhas alias Saeen, in a case pertaining to the killing of a K-Electric official.

Pronouncing the verdict, the ATC-VIII judge observed that the prosecution had failed to prove charges against the accused and, therefore, he was absolved from the murder charges.

Minhas was tried for the killing of former KE deputy managing director Farhan Khalil on March 19, 2013. According to the prosecution, the accused and his absconding accomplices had planted a magnetic bomb in Khalil’s car which exploded in the North Nazimabad neighbourhood when he was returning to home from his office.

The FIR of the incident was lodged under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (murder attempt), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act at the Haideri Market police station.

Separately, Minhas has been awarded death sentence by a military court for the murders of 43 Ismaili community members in a bus attack.