Kidnapping case: Afaq Ahmed case to be heard by ATC on July 26

He is implicated in the 2001 kidnapping of a KDA official.

KARACHI: Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi chief Afaq Ahmed’s case will be heard by the Anti-Terrorism Court-II on July 26, to decide on an application relating to the possibility of his acquittal.

At the hearing on Tuesday, the ATC-II fixed the date for further evidence to be presented.

Ahmed’s counsel told The Express Tribune that they have submitted an application under 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which states the power of the court to acquit an accused at any stage.

Section 265-K of the CrPC states: “Nothing in this Chapter shall be deemed to prevent a Court from acquitting an accused at any stage of the case; if, after hearing the prosecutor and the accused and for reasons to be recorded, it considers that there is no probability of the accused being convicted of any offence.”

At the last hearing on May 29, Ahmed’s counsel argued that his client could be exempted from court proceedings.

The complainant’s lawyer and the special public prosecutor had argued that according to the interpretation of the law and past precedents, exemptions could not be granted if there was one accused in the case.

Ahmed is implicated in the alleged kidnapping of a Karachi Development Authority official in 2001. He was granted bail in the case last November, which paved the way for his release from Landhi jail.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2012.