PHOTO: FILE
Former Malir SSP Rao Anwar and former DSP Qamar, who have been granted bail appeared, before the court while the other accused who are under arrest were produced by jail authorities.
Witness Shaheen Zaman maintained that Dr Mubarak had told him that Naqeebullah and two others were picked up by the police. "He said that I should do something if I have any influence. I told him that I had a childhood friend, Saifur Rehman, who I could contact," said Zaman. The witness told the court that when he contacted Saifur Rehman, now an MNA, Rehman said it was late at night and asked to meet in Sohrab Goth the next day. "The following day, I met him at Abbas Town Chowk, where he asked the Chowki In-Charge Ali Akbar that he had come to collect the three men who had been picked up," said Zaman.
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According to Zaman's statement, the in-charge asked who had come to receive them and Rehman said he had personally come to receive them as Naqeebullah was only a model who should be released, or should be presented before the court if there were any charges against him.
"The in-charge said that the men had been handed over to higher authorities. We left with that information," Zaman told the court. "A few days later, I saw on Facebook that Naqeebullah had been killed in a police encounter. I was later called to the Sachal Police Station," he added.
The court asked Zaman to identify Ali Akbar from the arrested accused. However, the witness misidentified suspect Muhammad Iqbal as Ali Akbar.
Rao Anwar's counsel, advocate Amir Mansoor, was asked to cross-examine Zaman on his statement after its completion.
Anwar's counsel asked Zaman whether he had given the same statement to the police as the one he had given before the court.
Zaman said that both the statements were the same.
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The counsel asked whether the witness had reported the information given to him by Dr Mubarak Shah about the kidnapping of Naqeebullah and his friends to higher authorities.
The witness maintained that he had not reported the matter at all. The counsel asked if Dr Mubarak had accompanied him to the Chowki. Zaman denied that Dr Mubarak accompanied them there.
Anwar's counsel then asked whether Zaman had met with Naqeebullah's father, Saifullah, and others, between January 5 and February 24.
Zaman said that he had held meetings with the named. At this, the counsel maintained that the witness had not made any statement between January 5 and January 23 and up till February 24.
Zaman replied that his statement was recorded after the registration of the case and he had not filed any complaint prior to that. "I signed the statement which I submitted in my own handwriting," said Zaman.
Anwar's counsel maintained that the statement came 32 days after the case and there was no mention in that statement about Naqeebullah being a model as Zaman stated before the court.
Here, Zaman conceded, saying that he had given his statement at the time when no other witness, including Saifur Rehman, had given their statements.
The counsels of other accused also cross-examined Zaman's statement after which the court sought the other witness, Mashroob Khan.
However, the court staff informed that the second witness had left.
Irked over the missing witness, the court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Mashroob Khan and adjourned the hearing till November 7.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2019.
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