ATC to announce verdict in Intezar murder case on 30th

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has reserved its verdict in a teenager’s murder case after a three-year-long trial against policemen. The ATC-VII is set to announce the decision on July 30, as the prosecution and the defence have completed their arguments.

Intezar Ahmed, 19, was allegedly murdered by policemen in the upmarket DHA neighbourhood on January 13, 2018. According to his father Ishtiaq Ahmed, his son had left the house to eat out with his friends but was later brutally murdered. He claimed that his son’s murder was pre-planned.

Eight policemen belonging to the Anti-Car Lifting Cell — Tariq Rahim, Tariq Mehmood, Azhar Ahsan, Shahid, Fawad Khan, Daniyal, Bilal Rasheed and Ghulam Abbas — went to trial on a charge of murder.

The case had been registered under sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, at the Darakhshan police station. The investigation of the case was carried out by the Counter Terrorism Department.

Man gets death

A sessions court awarded the death sentence to a man after he was found guilty of murdering his relative. Additional District & Sessions Judge (East) sent Suhail Abdul Salam to the gallows for killing Munawwar Ali in 2019.

According to the prosecution, the accused had fired four shots from his 9mm pistol at the victim during a family dispute. The defence, on the other hand, had refuted the allegations.

Pronouncing the verdict, the judge observed that the prosecution had successfully established its case against the accused beyond a shadow of a doubt while he failed to prove his claim that he was innocent and had been falsely implicated.

The case had been registered under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the New Town police station on the complaint of a member of the victim’s family.

Ali Wazir’s speech

An ATC has sought from police a certified translation of the speech of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement leader and MNA Ali Wazir in which he allegedly criticised and incited the public against the state.

The ATC-XII ordered the investigation officer of the case to get the Urdu translation of Wazir’s speech in Pashtu from the Federal Investigation Agency after the previous two translations became controversial.

Initially, the police had submitted their own translation of the speech in the ATC; however, the defence counsel objected to it and the court directed the IO to get it done from the Pashtu Academy, University of Peshawar.

Later, the defence counsel also opposed it, saying that the translation was the same as the earlier one and the only difference in them was that the latter carried a stamp of the academy.

After listening to the arguments, the court had then referred the matter to the Federal Investigation Agency and a translation from the agency is expected to be submitted at the next hearing on Saturday.

According to the prosecution, Wazir addressed a public gathering of around 2,000 participants in Sohrab Goth on December 6, 2020, in which he incited public against the state and used derogatory language against security forces.

Police had arrested Wazir in Peshawar in connection with the case on a request of the Sindh police and flown him to Karachi to face trial. Currently, only he is in custody while 10 of his suspected accomplices have obtained bail from the court.

The charge sheet reads that under the purview of the investigation, witnesses’ statements and video footage of the rally, the case was lodged under sections 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Pakistan), 121-A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable under Section 121), 124-A (sedition), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Meanwhile, the police intimated the court about Wazir’s arrest in another similar case pertaining to delivering a controversial speech to a corner meeting in Shah Latif Town in 2019.