Ex-MPA, brother acquitted in attempted-murder case

CHARSADDA: The ATC on Monday acquitted former member provincial assembly Arshad Khan Umarzai and his brother Khursheed Khan Umarzai, who had been nominated in a case of attempted-murder of Awami National Party (ANP) leader Shakil Bashir Umarzai.

Speaking at a press conference, Arshad Umarzai along with his brother Khursheed Umarzai said that the Charsadda police and the court fulfilled all the requirements of justice in their case as they were innocent.

They said that they were directly nominated in the firing on the caravan of ANP MPA Shakil Bashir Umarzai on Ghani Road in Charsadda on January 5. They said a police constable Shahenshah was also martyred in the attack. The former MPA said the court granted them bail before arrest the next day.

Later, the police conducted an investigation and arrested two accused involved in firing on the caravan of their rival Shakil Bashir Umarzai. The police, he added, had recovered the weapons and vehicles used in the crime. He praised the police for impartial investigation in the case and the court which later dispensed justice.

Afzal Bashir Umarzai, the brother of MPA Shakil Umarzai, had nominated former MPA Arshad Umarzai and his brother in the firing case.