In court: Witness identifies Zahra Shahid’s murderers
Shahid was shot dead, hours before re-election in the NA-250 constituency, last year.
KARACHI:
A witness identified on Monday two suspects as the killers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader, Zahra Shahid.
District South judicial magistrate Mumtaz Solangi conducted the identification parade in which the witness identified Muhammad Rashid alias Master and Zahid Abbas Zaidi as Shahid's assailants.
Shahid was shot dead by the assailants in front of her house in Defence Phase IV, hours before re-election in the NA-250 constituency on May 17, 2013. Sixteen months later, police claimed to have tracked down three suspects involved in the killing, including the man who had plotted the murder.
On Monday, the investigation officer of the case produced both the suspects before the witness in the court of the judicial magistrate. Quoting the witness, the police investigators said Zahid Abbas Zaidi was riding the motorcycle on the day of the incident while Rashid alias Master sat behind him and fired the bullets that pierced through the neck of the PTI leader.
The suspects were brought to the court amid tight security and were driven back to the lock-up after the identification parade. The magistrate ordered the investigators to produce them again on Tuesday (today), when they would be produced before other witnesses for identification.
Initially, the police had arrested Rashid on the charges of possessing illicit arms. During interrogation, he had allegedly confessed to have murdered Zahra Shahid, along with his accomplices. On a lead given by him, police later claimed to have tracked down Zahid Abbas Zaidi on October 2.
According to the investigators, their accomplices - Lala alias Jahangir and Mehmood Ateeq - are still at large and raids are being conducted for their arrest. Last week, an anti-terrorism court had granted physical custody of both the arrested suspects to police for interrogation.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2014.
A witness identified on Monday two suspects as the killers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader, Zahra Shahid.
District South judicial magistrate Mumtaz Solangi conducted the identification parade in which the witness identified Muhammad Rashid alias Master and Zahid Abbas Zaidi as Shahid's assailants.
Shahid was shot dead by the assailants in front of her house in Defence Phase IV, hours before re-election in the NA-250 constituency on May 17, 2013. Sixteen months later, police claimed to have tracked down three suspects involved in the killing, including the man who had plotted the murder.
On Monday, the investigation officer of the case produced both the suspects before the witness in the court of the judicial magistrate. Quoting the witness, the police investigators said Zahid Abbas Zaidi was riding the motorcycle on the day of the incident while Rashid alias Master sat behind him and fired the bullets that pierced through the neck of the PTI leader.
The suspects were brought to the court amid tight security and were driven back to the lock-up after the identification parade. The magistrate ordered the investigators to produce them again on Tuesday (today), when they would be produced before other witnesses for identification.
Initially, the police had arrested Rashid on the charges of possessing illicit arms. During interrogation, he had allegedly confessed to have murdered Zahra Shahid, along with his accomplices. On a lead given by him, police later claimed to have tracked down Zahid Abbas Zaidi on October 2.
According to the investigators, their accomplices - Lala alias Jahangir and Mehmood Ateeq - are still at large and raids are being conducted for their arrest. Last week, an anti-terrorism court had granted physical custody of both the arrested suspects to police for interrogation.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2014.