Shahzeb Khan trial: Prime suspect Shahrukh Jatoi’s lawyer taken off the case

ATC judge requests the apex court grant him more time to complete hearing.

KARACHI: The leading lawyer defending Shahrukh Jatoi in the Shahzeb Khan murder case being heard at the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATC) was abruptly removed on Wednesday.

After Advocate Shaukat Zubedi did not turn up for hearing, ATC Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon adjourned the hearing till Thursday morning, warning the defendants that such leniency would not be allowed in the future.

The case has entered a crucial phase as complainant DSP Aurangzeb Khan, the father of the deceased Shahzeb Khan, will testify along with four other eyewitnesses.

When the proceeding began on Wednesday morning, defendant Shahrukh Jatoi submitted an application to the judge, pleading that the hearing should be suspended for two days as his main lawyer, Zubedi, was sick. Memon pointed out that other lawyers of the panel were available and the case could still be heard, but the defendant insisted that Zubedi’s presence was necessary to the case.

In a subsequent development, Shaukat was, however, removed from the case as the Jatoi family was allegedly unhappy with his performance.

“While we were on our way to the courts, someone on behalf of the client [Shahrukh] called us and dictated a set of questions they wanted us to ask during the cross examination of witnesses,” revealed Advocate Hummul Zubedi, who is part of Shaukat Zubedi’s team of lawyers.



“We don’t take dictations. As lawyers it was our job to prove the innocence of our client,” he said, clarifying that Shaukat was not sick. “We obviously refused and were told not to go to the court since they’ll hire someone else.” Hummul was of the opinion that some of the questions they requested would have, in fact, supported the prosecutors’ case.

The murder case in question took place on December 25, last year, when Shahzeb, 20, was shot dead in his car in DHA. Shahrukh Jatoi, his friend Siraj Talpur, Sajjad Talpur and their servant Ghulam Mustafa Lashari are the prime suspects. Out of the total 52 witnesses that the prosecution intends to present, five have testified so far, including Shahzeb’s mother, sister and the judicial magistrate who oversaw the identification parade of the four accused. If convicted, the suspects face a minimum punishment of life in imprisonment or even death, lawyers said.

Judge seeks time

In a letter, ATC judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon has asked the Supreme Court to allow more time to decide the case, according to lawyers. The Supreme Court had earlier asked ATC to conclude the case in seven days which meant the verdict was expected before March 13. So far, only five of the 52 witnesses have testified and cross-examined even though the judge has stretched the hearing from 9am to late evening.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2013.