Zain murder case: Key witness denies recognising Mustafa Kanju

Sohail Afzal recorded his statement in the court on Saturday, stating he reached the site 90 minutes after the murder

LAHORE: In a potentially case changing development, the complainant and the key witness to the murder of 16-year-old Zain Rauf on Saturday said he did not recognise the accused Mustafa Kanju, who is the son former federal minister Siddique Kanju.

Muhammad Sohail Afzal, a relative of Zain, had appeared before the court and recorded his statement, contending that he did not recognise the accused, adding that he had reached the spot one and a half hours after the murder.

On April 1, Mustafa had allegedly opened fire on a vehicle near Lahore’s Cavalry Ground area, killing Zain and leaving a pedestrian injured.

Meanwhile, the ATC will allow lawyers to cross examine the complainant on August 20.

At the last hearing in the case, counsel for Kanju had told the court that a compromise was being negotiated between the two parties.

Simultaneously, the police had contended that they had confiscated a Kalashnikov from the accused’s possession.

Read: ATC indicts former federal minister’s son

Kanju has maintained that he did not intend to kill anyone, adding that his rivals were trying to trap him in a fake case. He claimed that Zain was killed in a cross fire, but not from his bullet.

Earlier on June 30, a special anti-terrorism court had indicted Mustafa for killing the teenager and injuring another.

Holding him and four others responsible, the court issued notices to the witnesses of prosecution for July 7. Others accused include Asif, Sadiq, Sadullah and Akram.