Legal battle: Only one witness manages to record statement in Shahzeb’s murder trial

Defendants’ lawyers argue names of witnesses should be provided beforehand.

KARACHI: Only one witness could record his statement before an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Friday during the hearing of Shahzeb Khan’s murder case.

The other witnesses failed to do so because the lawyer, representing the accused, demanded the names of the witnesses should be provided beforehand. Shahzeb’s uncle, a witness who recorded his statement, told ATC judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon that he received the victim’s body from the hospital. He said the family was satisfied with the contents of the post-mortem report.

Hummul Zubedi, the lawyer who represents the accused, said that Shahzeb’s uncle was not an eyewitness in this case. “All that he has heard about how the murder took place is based on hearsay,” he argued.



“There were more witnesses ready to testify but that didn’t happen because the other side objected,” said Salahuddin Panhwar, who is part of the legal team representing the family of 20-year-old boy who was gunned down in Defence on December 25, 2012.

“We have already provided them with names of 53 witnesses but they wanted to know exactly who would be called. That is difficult because some of them feel threatened.”

The judge instructed, however, the lawyers to share the names of three witnesses who will appear for examination when the hearing resumes today (Saturday). “We have enough evidence and witnesses to ensure conviction,” said a confident Panhwar.

After the killing, Shahzeb’s family and friends launched a protest movement demanding justice. This alerted the Chief Justice of Pakistan who initiated suo motu proceedings against the murder. Shahzeb’s father, DSP Aurangzeb Khan, who is the complainant, failed to turn up for the hearing on Friday as he was sick. All the four accused in this case - Shahrukh Jatoi, his friend Siraj Talpur, Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Mustafa Lashari - have, however, pleaded not guilty.

The Supreme Court had ordered the ATC to decide the fate of accused in seven days, which means the verdict is expected before March 13. If convicted, the prime suspect Shahrukh Jatoi faces a minimum punishment of life imprisonment or even death, said the lawyers. The police have completed the investigation and submitted a final challan in court that nominated Jatoi and others.

Earlier, the judge had rejected the plea of the defence lawyers to transfer the case to the sessions court instead of proceeding with it under the strict Anti Terrorism Act, 1997.

CCTV footage of  Shahrukh’s escape

Any doubt surrounding escape of Shahrukh Jatoi from the country was put to rest on Saturday as Expess News aired footage recorded inside Karachi’s Jinnah airport on December 27, the day the prime murder accused took a Dubai-bound flight.

In the footage, Shahruk Jatoi is seen walking along with two protocol officers of Pakistan International Airlines, Wasi Akhtar and Mahmood Sultan. In a red cap that conceals part of his face, Jatoi can be seen passing all security checks. At one point, one of the protocol officers talks to an immigration official who had stopped Jatoi, but then allows him to pass. He boards an Emirates flight EK-605 for Dubai.

A complaint numbered 63/12 was duly noted in the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) airport register, which specifies that Jatoi, escorted by PIA protocol officers, entered the airport, walked past the Airport Security Force staff, then the Anti Narcotics Force guards and finally the immigration officials of the FIA.

“Everyone just smiled and made way for them,” admitted a senior FIA official. “It is a case of gross negligence and incompetence on part of our staff. But more than anything else, it’s the culture of entertaining VIPs that has brought us to this level.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2013.