KARACHI: A lawyer for Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi leader Afaq Ahmed attempted to argue in Anti-Terrorism Court II on Tuesday that his client could be exempted from court proceedings.
He noted that there had been an assurance that lawyers would be given security in court, however the ATC II judge asked him to produce the original order on this by the high court.
The complainant’s lawyer and the special prosecutor both argued that according to the interpretation of the law and precedent, exemptions could not be granted if there was just one person accused in a case.
The judge told the prosecution and defence to look at precedents and judgments by the superior courts given the number of cases of a political nature that have been registered in Pakistan.
The case relates to an alleged kidnapping in 2001 of a Karachi Development Authority official. ATC II had granted Afaq Ahmed bail for Rs0.5 million in this case last November. However, the initial First Information Report does not reportedly mention Ahmed’s name.
The judge also held last November that the case fell under Section 497 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which means that evidence of Ahmed’s role in the crime was not available, and so the matter needed to be investigated further.
The case will next be heard on July 10.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 30th, 2012.
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