Two witnesses record statements

Court charges three suspects

ISLAMABAD: Two witnesses in the murder of Barrister Fahad Malik recorded their statements before an anti-terror court in the federal capital on Wednesday.

The statements were recorded as the court formally started the trial in the case.

On Wednesday, five witnesses were presented before the court. However, one of them, Anwar, was deemed irrelevant and asked to leave.

Two other witnesses including Police Constable Muhammad Ramzan and Computer Operator Shahzad recorded their statements before the court.

The court has now directed three witnesses to appear before it at the next hearing scheduled for November 12.

The anti-terror court had on Tuesday charged the three suspects for the murder of Barrister Fahd Malik, the nephew of former Senate chairman and the incumbent Federal Privatisation Minister Muhammad Mian Soomro.

On Tuesday, the three suspects including Raja Arshad, Nawaz Khokhar and Raja Hashim were brought to court in strict security. The court charged them with the murder of Barrister Malik. To this, the suspects denied the charge and pled not guilty.



The judge then remarked that it will hear the case on a daily basis.

The court also rejected a plea filed by Arshad seeking post-arrest bail.

Fahad had been shot dead in Sector F-10/3 of the federal capital, allegedly by Arshad, early on August 15, 2016.

The lawyer’s uncle, Malik Tariq, was also injured during the attack. He had lodged a complaint with the Shalimar police against Arshad, Noman alias Nomi Khokhar and at least eight unidentified people.

In the application, Tariq said his son Hasnain and Arshad had quarrelled over some issue in Sector F-11 Markaz on the preceding night.

Tariq said when he arrived at the scene; Arshad had threatened him and his son.

However, a police team intervened and brought both the parties to Shalimar Police Station to resolve the situation amicably.

Tariq’s two other sons and nephew Fahad also arrived at the police station.

Tariq said that Arshad continued threatening them even at the police station.

However, both the parties agreed on a compromise and left the police station.

Tariq said when they left the police station at about 3:15 am on August 15, Arshad said he wanted to discuss something with him.

He sat in Tariq’s vehicle, telling Tariq to drop him at the McDonald’s.

Fahad, Tariq’s son Bazid Malik and Usman sat in the other car (VY-1) and followed Tariq’s vehicle.

“Arshad told me ‘what you have done is not right’ … and when we arrived near Street 3 in Sector F-10/3 at about 3:20 am, a double-cabin car (WT-333) overtook and intercepted us, while another stopped behind Fahad’s car. Five armed men came out of the car in front of us and one of them named Noman stepped forward to[wards] my car. Raja Arshad got off the car and told him [Noman] ‘teach them a lesson’,” Tariq maintained in his complaint to the police.

Noman fired three to four bullets, one of which hit Tariq in the leg, while others hit the vehicle.

He said another four to five armed men came out of the other car.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2018.