Judge admits policeman’s appeal

Court agrees to take up appeal in long-running Murtaza Bhutto case after men from both sides were recently acquitted.

KARACHI: A court has agreed to take up an appeal in the long-running Mir Murtaza Bhutto case after men from both sides were recently acquitted.

On Monday, Justice Muhammad Tasnim of the Sindh High Court recalled an earlier order of his (March 4, 2010) to admit for hearing the appeal and issued notices to the companions of the late Mir Murtaza Bhutto, accused of firing at a police team on September 20, 1996.

The appeal was filed by Shahid Hayat, who is now an AIGP in the Sindh police and was an ASP at the time of the incident. He has challenged the acquittal of Dr Mazhar Memon, Asghar Ali, Ghulam Mustafa, Mehmood, Asif and Akhtar Ali. They faced trial in the FIR lodged by deceased Clifton SHO Haq Nawaz Sial besides absconding accused Ameer Bux, Qaiser Hussain, Waqar Hussain, Ayaz Ali and Muhammad Ismail.

Impugning the judgment by an additional district and sessions judge in the session case 210/ 2006, the appellant maintained that the trial court had failed to appreciate the fact that he (Shahid Hayat and Haq Nawaz Sial) had sustained firearm injuries due to firing by the companions of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, chief of his own faction of the PPP (Shaheed Bhutto group).

The appellant maintains that in his deposition, he had attributed a specific role and has deposed before the trial court that accused Mustafa Chandio (Ghulam Mustafa) fired at him (the appellant) while Asghar Ali fired and caused injury to Haq Nawaz Sial. But the trial court ignored the evidence and acquitted all the respondents/accused under section 265 - H, by giving them the benefit of the doubt. No reason for acquittal was recorded, the appellants maintained.

The SHC bench which had earlier admitted the appeal, recalled on Monday its order and sent it to the branch concerned with orders that it may be fixed before a division bench (consisting of two judges).

Mir Murtaza Bhutto and his men were allegedly gunned down in an encounter with the Karachi police on September 20, 1996 when they were returning from district west after addressing a huge party gathering at Yousuf Goth. Their motorcade was intercepted by a heavy contingent of police. In an alleged encounter, seven people, including Mir Murtaza Bhutto, Ashiq Ali Jatoi, Abdul Sattar Rajpar, Yar Muhammad Baloch, Muhammad Rahim, Sajjad Haider and Wajahat Jokhio were killed while a taxi driver Muhammad Bachal also died in the alleged firing by a police team.  The case remained pending till 2008 and was decided recently in which the men accused from both the police’s side and Mir Murtaza Bhutto’s side were acquitted by the trial court.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2010.