‘Harbouring criminals’: ATC re-issues non-bailable arrest warrants for four ‘MQM workers'

Police directed to present accused in court on April 8.

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court re-issued on Friday non-bailable warrants for the arrest of four suspects absconding in a case relating to 'harbouring criminals' at the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) headquarters.

The judge ordered the arrest of Raees alias Mama, Shahzad alias Mullah, Naeem alias Mullah and Imran Ijaz Niazi and directed that they be produced before the court on April 8.

The prosecution alleged that the suspects were with MQM's senior leader, Amir Khan, when the Rangers raided the MQM headquarters, Nine Zero, on March 11 last year.

Khan was also taken into custody and subsequently arrested under the charges of instigating terrorism and harbouring criminals - an offense punishable under the anti-terror law.

The prosecution said Khan was the security in-charge at Nine Zero, where convicted criminals were given shelter with his consent. For the absconding suspects, it maintains they managed to evade arrest.

On Friday, the investigation officer (IO) filed a report regarding efforts for arrest of the absconders. The officer said that the immigration authorities were approached to seek information including addresses and passport numbers of the absconders.

Accepting the IO's report, the judge re-issued non-bailable warrants for arrest of the four absconders and ordered police to track them down and present them in the court by April 8.

The court also accepted Khan's application seeking return of the Rs1 million surety he had furnished against bail granted to him in the same case in June last year. The judge directed the office to return the surety amount after proper verification.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2016.