ATC to indict Saad Aziz, Tahir Minhas in five more cases

Cases include one relating to murder of Navy captain


Naeem Sahoutara March 04, 2017
Saad Aziz was convicted for killing T2F director Sabeen Mahmud, as well as being involved in Safoora Goth bus attack. PHOTO: FACEBOOK

KARACHI: Two convicts, who were sentenced to death by a military court in the Safoora Goth carnage and human rights activist Sabeen Mahmud's murder cases, will be indicted by the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in five more cases on March 14.

The ATC-VI judge fixed the cases, including the one relating to the murder of a Navy captain, for indictment of Saad Aziz and Tahir Hussain Minhas.

The two, along with their absconding accomplices, have been booked for allegedly murdering Captain Nadeem Ahmed near Karsaz in September, 2013, killing K-Electric official Farhan Khalil through a magnetic bomb in Hyderi Market in 2013, murder of police constable Waqar Hashmi in New Karachi in 2014, carrying explosives and engaging in a shootout with police.

Safoora carnage: Saad Aziz, four others challenge death sentences

In May last year, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had announced the confirmation of the death sentences awarded to Tahir, Saad, Asadur Rehman, Azhar Ishrat and Hafiz Nasir by the military courts in a number of cases, including the Safoora Goth carnage and the Sabeen Mahmud murder cases.

Inspired by the so-called Islamic State (IS), the group of youth was found responsible for killing 45 members of the Ismaili community in May, 2015.

On Saturday, the jail officials produced the two accused before the ATC-VI after the military authorities handed them back to the central prison one-and-half years after their arrest and trial before the military court.

Safoora carnage, Sabeen’s murder: SHC seeks comments in case of convicts challenging death sentence

While providing them documents of prosecution as required under Section 265-C of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court fixed March 14 to indict them in five cases

Pending appeals

In January this year, all the five convicts had challenged their conviction and sentences in the Sindh High Court (SHC), where their appeals are still pending disposal.

In the appeals, it has been argued that the five men were tried in the absence of a lawyer, which was a violation of their fundamental right to fair trial enshrined in the Article 10-A of the Constitution.

However, the military court had acquitted three co-accused of charge of facilitation. They included former deputy-director of the Fishermen Cooperative Society, Sultan Qamar Siddiqui, his younger brother, Muhammad Hussain Siddiqui and another, Naeem Sajid.

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