QUETTA, June 28: An anti-terrorism court convicted on Tuesday Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, a member of the Balochistan Assembly and leader of the PML-Q, his son and four others of kidnapping a man and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

ATC-II Judge Aminuddin Bazai also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on each of the accused who had kidnapped Imam Din from Sibi in 2009.

They were also sentenced to an additional 10-year term for deliberately avoiding to appear before the court. The court issued perpetual warrants for their arrest. Another accused, Mohammad Din, was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Talking to reporters on phone from his native town of Sani Shoran, Sardar Rind termed the sentence a political victimisation. He said the case had been filed against him when he was in Dubai, adding that he had nothing to do with the kidnapping.

He urged the Chief Justice of Supreme Court to take notice of the case. “My rivals want to use this case to eliminate me.”