Wali Babar murder trial: SHC urged to relocate proceedings to another city

As many as six witnesses have been murdered, claim police.

KARACHI: Sindh High Court chief justice Maqbool Baqar has been requested to transfer the murder trial of Geo TV reporter, Wali Khan Babar, from Karachi due to threats to the lives of the sole witness, the prosecutors and investigators.

Last week, the advocate general had assured the Supreme Court bench that the government had decided to relocate the trial proceedings to ensure that the killers are prosecuted. Currently, the proceedings are pending before an anti-terrorism court in Karachi.

Officials in the high court told The Express Tribune that the home department had made a formal request to the chief justice, who has the power to order transfer of proceedings from one court to another within the province.



“The request application is under process and will soon be placed before the chief justice to pass an appropriate order,” added the official, who wished not to be named.

Wali Khan Babar was killed on January 13, 2011 when unknown gunmen opened firing on his vehicle in the limits of Super Market police station. Five men - including Faisal Mahmood alias Nafsiati, Syed Mohammad Ali Rizvi, Shahrukh alias Mani, Naveed alias Polka and Shakil alias Malik - have been charged with the murder by the anti-terrorism court.

Police say six witnesses - including police informer Rajab Ali Bengali, constable Asif Rafiq, head constable Arshad Kundi and Super Market police station SHO’s brother Naveed Khan - have been murdered in connection with this case.

In the wake of looming threats, the provincial government has recently decided to transfer the proceedings from Karachi to another city in the province. “Subsequently, the police department made a request to the home department for the transfer, which has approached the high court,” an official told The Express Tribune.

It is expected that the SHC CJ Maqbool Baqar will soon pass the appropriate order.

It may be noted that a senior lawyer, Naimat Ali Randhawa, was also gunned down by unknown motorcyclists in the North Nazimabad on September 26 - two days after the former ATC prosecutor had got involved in the slain journalist’s murder trial.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th,2013.