Freedom at last?: Afaq says cases against him are fake

MQM-H chief has been in jail since 2004.

KARACHI:

Afaq Ahmed, chief of his own faction of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement - Haqiqi, has asked the court to release him from jail, arguing that the cases against him are fake.

Ahmed has been in Central Prison, Karachi, since 2004 and has been nominated for being a co-plotter or instigator in cases of murder, attempted murder and possession of illegal arms. His lawyers, M Ilyas Khan and Muhammad Farooq Advocate, told the Sindh High Court on Thursday that these cases are foisted and fake. They demanded his release.

The lawyers pointed out that Ahmed was kept in a high-security area where he had no access to any communication facility and was not in contact with any party member. The alleged possession of firearms was also attributed through another accused and thus becomes inadmissible under the relevant laws (Qanoon-e-Shahadat), the lawyer said.

Ahmed has been given bail by different benches of the high court, including the bail he received a week ago, he added.

After hearing the arguments, the high court bench, comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Ghulam Sarwar Korai, issued notices to the Sindh home secretary, police inspector general and other respondents for May 24.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2011.