Hakim Said case: SC upholds SHC decision, acquits three MQM workers

Three MQM activists were accused of involvement in the murder of Hakim Muhammad Said.

KARACHI:

The Supreme Court on Saturday acquitted three activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) accused of involvement in the murder of famous philanthropist and physician Hakim Muhammad Said, upholding the Sindh High Court’s earlier verdict in the case.

The Sindh government had challenged the acquittal of the MQM workers by the SHC in the top court. According to a news channel, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court bench, hearing the Sindh government’s appeal, issued a six-page judgment acquitting the MQM workers, Amirullah, Imran Pasha and Muhammad Shakir for ‘want of evidence’.

Hakim Said, a former governor of Sindh, was murdered on October 17, 1998.

MQM welcomes verdict

The MQM welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the MQM Coordination Committee said the Supreme Court had acquitted the three MQM workers just as the SHC had done years ago. They termed the allegations that the MQM was involved in Hakim Said’s murder a conspiracy against the party.

“In those days [1998], every person associated with the MQM was picked up and arrested. Our activists were tortured and faced fabricated cases. The situation today, with the ongoing targeted operation, is no different,” said the MQM Deputy Convener Nasir Jamal.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2014.