KARACHI, Jan 28: Two top leaders of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, commonly known as Haqiqi, were on Wednesday acquitted in the murder case of a taxi driver by a district and sessions court.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (Malir) Jam Mohammad Gangar exonerated Afaq Ahmed and Amir Khan, the chairman and secretary-general of the MQM (Haqiqi), respectively, in the 2002 murder case for want of evidence against them.

The judge announced his verdict after recording the evidence and final arguments from both sides. The judge observed that the prosecution had failed to produce sufficient evidence before the trial court to prove its case against the accused.

The court ruled that the evidence of the prosecution witnesses did not connect the accused persons with the commission of the alleged offence. In their final arguments, the defence counsel submitted that their clients were innocent and had been implicated in the case on political grounds. They submitted that there was no direct or indirect evidence on record to involve the accused in the case. They prayed to the court to acquit their clients.

The public prosecutor, however, submitted that due to a long delay in the trial, the prosecution case had been weakened.

According to the prosecution, on July 30, 2002, complainant Zubair Ali, son of Mashooq Ali, along with his mother, Rafiqun Nisa, was coming to his home in Nazimabad in a taxi. When they reached Ammar Yasir Society near Lilly Town, three to four unknown persons allegedly opened fire on the taxi, wounding his mother and the taxi driver, Kafiluddin. The complainant took his mother to Al-Mustafa Trust Hospital, while Kafiluddin was taken to the JPMC, where he succumbed to his wounds.

The police had registered a case (FIR 144/02) under Sections 302 (intentional murder), 324 (attempt to murder) and 109 (punishment of abetment) and 34 (common intent) of the Pakistan Penal Code at Malir City police station.

Later, the police arrested two accused, Babar and Danish, who confessed to their involvement in the murder and disclosed during the interrogation that they had committed the offence at the behest of Afaq Ahmed, Amir Khan and then MPA, Younus Khan.

Younus Khan had already been acquitted in the case under Section 494 (effect of withdrawal from prosecution) of the criminal procedure code. The accused, Danish and Babar, managed to get bail and since then they did not appear in court. Therefore, the court had declared them absconders.

Meanwhile, Advocate Suhail Anjum, who represented Afaq Ahmed in the case, said that after his acquittal, three more cases were pending trial against his client before different courts. Two cases (FIR 104/2005 and 105/2005) were lodged under Section 13-E of the Arms Ordinance 1965, and Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Explosive Act at Landhi police station, while the third case (FIR 102/92) was registered under Sections 147, 148, 149, 324, 364 and 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.