Cases withdrawn: Trial proceedings stopped against Buledi

KARACHI:

The proceedings against the alleged kingpin of Lyari, Ameen Buledi, were stopped on Saturday by the court after Buledi’s lawyer produced a notification by the Sindh Chief Minister allowing withdrawal of cases against the suspect.

“There is no point of continuing with the trial since the government has withdrawn the cases,” said his lawyer, Saifi Ali Khan, producing a copy of the official notification dated February 8, 2013 regarding withdrawal of 34 different cases, including four registered against her client. Additional district and sessions court for district South, Tariq Mehmood Khoso, accepted the application moved by Buledi’s lawyer.

“The CM had directed the prosecutors to file applications under section 494 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) with the relevant courts for stopping trial in the 34 cases but the prosecutors delayed the matter due to which Buledi has been incarcerated in jails for nine months without any legal justification,” said Khan.



Buledi has yet to be released as he is facing trial in other cases currently pending before the sessions and anti-terrorism courts.

Buledi was arrested by the Lahore police in late September along with two of his companions, Zubair and Junaid. Investigators at that time claimed that he was wanted in murder, attempted murder, kidnapping for ransom and several other cases.

Law enforcers, however, have termed his release as a massive blow to the ongoing target operation against the criminals in the city. Buledi’s arrest had made headlines in the media as the Karachi police claimed it was the first major breakthrough in the targeted operation.

“Our job is to arrest the criminals,” said Inspector Sarwar Commando, who was given the special task to arrest Buledi. In September, the commando had tracked down his target on the streets of Lahore.

The official, who had to face hearings before the Lahore High Court for arresting Ameen Buledi, regretted the government’s decision of taking back cases. “I would simply say this is the state’s disloyalty to its officers,” remarked Sarwar Commando, who narrated how hard he worked to catch the suspect.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2013.