Imran murder case: Court refuses bail to suspect

Court observes Moazam Ali facing charges of providing monetary support to two key suspects.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday dismissed bail plea of a suspect currently standing trial in the Imran Farooq murder case.

Announcing its verdict, reserved on June 1, an IHC division bench said that the bail could not be granted to Moazzam Ali as he has been accused of providing monetary assistance to the other key suspects in the case.

Ali’s counsel, Mansoor Afridi, had filed the bail application in the high court after an anti-terrorism court had dismissed his plea.

In his arguments, Afridi argued that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) did not have evidence against his client and took five years in registering a case.

During the arguments, FIA counsel Khawaja Imtiaz informed the court that the two other suspects in the case —- Khalid Shamim and Syed Mohsin Ali —- have implicated Ali in the case in their confessional statements recorded before a magistrate.

Farooq was stabbed and bludgeoned to death near his apartment in Green Lane, Edgware in London on September 16, 2010.

The FIA counsel had said that the statements revealed how and where the suspects gathered, from whom they got money and how they committed the offence.

According to the FIA counsel, Ali allegedly opened bank accounts for the suspects and shown himself as “cousin and next of kin” in the bank documents whereas he has no blood relation with them.

Later on, Ali allegedly transferred money to their accounts, a requirement for obtaining study visas.

The FIA counsel also said that Muttahida Qaumi Movement senior member Muhammad Anwar also transferred £25,000 (Rs3.712 million) to the account of Khalid Shamim on January 30, 2010.

The suspect’s counsel had also maintained that the FIA was waiting to obtain evidence from the Scotland Yard police but they do not have enough evidence to arrest people living in the UK.

Afridi had also argued that the interim charge-sheet submitted before the ATC did not constitute any offence against his client.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2016.