Bhatti murder case: IHC judge refuses to hear acquittal plea

Case referred to IHC chief justice

ISLAMABAD: Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday refused to hear a case by an accused in the Shahbaz Bhatti assassination case.

In March 2011, Minority Affairs Minister Bhatti was gunned down in the Sector I-8/3. Later, in 2013, the police arrested Abdullah Umar Abbasi and registered a case against them. He is also accused of involvement in the assassination of Federal Investigation Agency FIA Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar.

On Wednesday, Abbasi filed an application before a two-member IHC bench comprising Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi and Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui requested to acquit him in the case. However, Justice Siddiqi refused to hear the case, which was then transferred to the IHC chief justice.

In July 2014, Abbasi was granted bail on medical grounds after his father pleaded that his son is completely paralysed.

Basharatullah Khan, counsel for Abbasi, told The Express Tribune that he filed an acquittal application before the court, but Justice Siddiqui refused to hear the case. When asked about the reason, he said that no reason was provided. Khan said that there was no solid evidence against his client and the police have not even submitted a charge-sheet.

Petitioner Muhammad Raza has nominated the Islamabad chief commissioner as a respondent in his application, which says that five to six high-rise buildings were under construction in the residential area of E-11 in violation of CDA bylaws. Under the rules, high-rise buildings can only be constructed at specified locations such as commercial centres, Raza said, adding that in a residential area, these buildings would affect the privacy of neighboring residents and would also affect the environment.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2015.