Two ‘MQM workers' get 14-year jail term for possessing arms, explosives

'Cockroach' and 'Tidda' claim innocence and insist they were falsely implicated in the case

KARACHI: Two alleged workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were awarded collective prison terms of 14 years by a south district and sessions court in Karachi on Tuesday.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Sikandar Amir Panhwar found Naeem, alias Cockroach, and Farhan, alias Tidda, guilty of possessing illicit weapons and explosives.



Both the suspects, who are said to be workers of the Karachi-based political party, were arrested in March 2013 from the city’s Orangi Town area during an intelligence-based raid.

During the trial, the court examined a number of witnesses, most of them policemen, who testified against the suspects. However, the suspects claimed innocence and insist they have been falsely implicated in the case.

“The prosecution successfully proved its case beyond any shadow of doubt,” the district and sessions judge observed in his judgement. The convicts were awarded seven years for each of the offense -- keeping illicit weapon and explosives.



The suspects, who remained under police detention since their arrest in 2013, have already completed three years of their sentence, and have the right to challenge the decision in the Sindh High Court.