Behind bars: ATC refuses to hear murder case of former judge
Former district and session judge is imprisoned for involvement in killing of Aqib Shahani in 2014
Anti-terrorism Court. PHOTO: EXPRESS
HYDERABAD:
In the singular case of a sitting judge indicted and imprisoned in a murder case, but not yet convicted, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Hyderabad has refused to hear the case.
ATC judge Ubaidullah Khan, citing his professional acquaintance with the accused, former district and session judge Sikandar Ali Lashari, sent a reference to the Sindh High Court (SHC) last week. Sources in the ATC told The Express Tribune that the case, whose September 17 hearing was deferred, is likely to be transferred to an ATC in Karachi following the SHC's order.
Sikandar was among half-a-dozen suspects nominated in the murder case of 20-year-old Aqib Shahani, who was the son of a district and session judge, Khalid Hussain Shahani. The young man was shot dead in front of his mother, Shamsunissa, sisters, Komal and Nimra, and a cousin, Hunain Shahani, near Niaz Cricket Stadium on February 19, 2014. Ghulam Abbass Siyal, who was accused of firing gunshots at Aqib, and other suspects, attacked him when he was passing through the stadium in a car with his family.
The FIR was registered in GOR police station on Hunain's complaint, containing Sections 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The SHC suspended Sikandar from service on March 3, 2014, which was followed by his arrest. Since then, the former judge has remained behind bars on judicial remand, along with another accused in the case, Irfan Bangali. Four suspects, including Barkat Lashari and Ghulam, are absconding in the case.
Aqib was a student of law at Hamdard University in Karachi. According to the family, the young man was in love with the accused judge's daughter. However, Sikandar was reportedly against their relationship. The Shahani and Lashari families belong to Larkana district. According to advocate Pir Asadullah Rashdi, the counsel of the Shahani family, the Hyderabad ATC has so far recorded statements of 13 witnesses, including the Shahani family.
At the time of his arrest in 2014, a senior lawyer, Qazi Sattar, told The Express Tribune that Sikandar was the second sitting judge in Sindh to have been arrested during service. The first was the district and session judge of Sanghar, Owais Murtaza, who was arrested on political ground in 1974, for granting bail to supporters of Pir Pagara.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2016.
In the singular case of a sitting judge indicted and imprisoned in a murder case, but not yet convicted, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Hyderabad has refused to hear the case.
ATC judge Ubaidullah Khan, citing his professional acquaintance with the accused, former district and session judge Sikandar Ali Lashari, sent a reference to the Sindh High Court (SHC) last week. Sources in the ATC told The Express Tribune that the case, whose September 17 hearing was deferred, is likely to be transferred to an ATC in Karachi following the SHC's order.
Sikandar was among half-a-dozen suspects nominated in the murder case of 20-year-old Aqib Shahani, who was the son of a district and session judge, Khalid Hussain Shahani. The young man was shot dead in front of his mother, Shamsunissa, sisters, Komal and Nimra, and a cousin, Hunain Shahani, near Niaz Cricket Stadium on February 19, 2014. Ghulam Abbass Siyal, who was accused of firing gunshots at Aqib, and other suspects, attacked him when he was passing through the stadium in a car with his family.
The FIR was registered in GOR police station on Hunain's complaint, containing Sections 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The SHC suspended Sikandar from service on March 3, 2014, which was followed by his arrest. Since then, the former judge has remained behind bars on judicial remand, along with another accused in the case, Irfan Bangali. Four suspects, including Barkat Lashari and Ghulam, are absconding in the case.
Aqib was a student of law at Hamdard University in Karachi. According to the family, the young man was in love with the accused judge's daughter. However, Sikandar was reportedly against their relationship. The Shahani and Lashari families belong to Larkana district. According to advocate Pir Asadullah Rashdi, the counsel of the Shahani family, the Hyderabad ATC has so far recorded statements of 13 witnesses, including the Shahani family.
At the time of his arrest in 2014, a senior lawyer, Qazi Sattar, told The Express Tribune that Sikandar was the second sitting judge in Sindh to have been arrested during service. The first was the district and session judge of Sanghar, Owais Murtaza, who was arrested on political ground in 1974, for granting bail to supporters of Pir Pagara.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2016.