Perween Rahman murder: SHC orders police to present witnesses

Court seeks death certificate of deceased witness

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered on Tuesday that witnesses in Perween Rahman murder case be presented before the court in the next hearing.

The police officer said that the witness in the case, Wali Dad, had died. Sindh Chief Justice (CJ) Ahmed Ali Sheikh, who was hearing the case, asked for the death certificate of the deceased, saying that it’s not uncommon to kill someone in an encounter and then declare them dead.

The lawyer appearing for the civil society argued that the lives of witnesses were in danger and that they should be provided security. The police officer replied that the witnesses were being provided security by an anti-terrorism court (ATC).

The court ordered that witnesses be presented before the court and a report be presented as well. The court adjourned the hearing on bail application of suspects Ayaz Ali, Imran Swati and Amjad Hussain till November 6. An ATC had rejected the bail plea of all the suspects.

Perween Rahman, the director of the Orangi Pilot Project, was killed in a targeted attack in 2013.

Possession of explosive material

The SHC ordered the defence lawyer to prepare his case and appear at the next hearing to argue on the appeal filed against the conviction awarded by the trial court to the alleged target killer, Ubaid K2, accused of possession of explosive materials. A two-member bench heard the case.

The defence lawyer had requested time for preparation and the court adjourned the hearing till November 14.

The appeal argues that the ATC had not taken evidence into consideration and sentenced the suspect to 14-years imprisonment. The case against the suspect was registered at the Gulberg Police Station in 2015.



Retrial ordered

The SHC, accepting the appeal against the death sentence awarded to Bilal, ordered the retrial of the case. Bilal is accused of firing and killing a citizen, Muhammad Wasim, in Mehmoodabad in 2011. A two-member bench heard the plea.

The court ordered that Bilal’s statement be recorded again and the retrial be concluded within 2 months.

Sessions court had sentenced the suspect to death in 2017 and imposed a fine of Rs0.1 million after establishing guilt.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2018.