KARACHI, July 19: An anti-terrorism court issued on Thursday a show-cause notice to the SHO of the Jamshed Quarters police station for his absence in a double murder case.

Abdul Razzaq and Qari Inayatullah, said to be workers of a sectarian group, have been charged with killing Azhar Hussain and Zain Ali, the scouts performing Muharram duty, within the remit of the Solider Bazaar police station in November last year.

A judicial magistrate, who conducted an identification parade of the accused, turned up before the ATC-III to testify in the case.

However, his testimony could not be recorded for want of a police file.

The judge, Ghulam Mustafa Memon, who is conducting the trial inside the central prison because of security concerns, issued a show-cause notice to IO Mohammad Khushnood, currently posted station house officer at the Jamshed Quarters police station, for his unexplained absence and non-production of the police file for Aug 2.

According to the prosecution, the scouts performing the Muharram duty at the Numaish intersection were attacked when participants of a rally held by the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat dispersed.

The case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Solider Bazaar police station.

The police said they arrested the accused on Dec 2.

Meanwhile, the same court recorded on Thursday the statements of two prosecution witnesses in as many sectarian killing cases.

Mohammad Ajmal alias Akram Lahori, the alleged chief of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, and his associates Mohammad Azam and Attaullah have been charged with murdering Zafar Mehdi Zaidi, the principal of the Jamia Millia Polytechnic Institute, and two others within the remit of the Al-Falah police station in May 2002 and killing Syed Jawad Hussain Rizvi and injuring his friend in DHA in January 2002.

The IO, Aslam Bhutta, recorded his evidence in the first case and deposed that the investigation was assigned to him on June 29, 2006, adding that he recorded the statements of witnesses under Section 161 (examination of witnesses by police) of the criminal procedure code, including two eyewitnesses, who identified the accused in the identification parade and deposed against them in their statements recorded by a magistrate.

After completing the investigation, the IO said that he submitted the charge-sheet.

The complainant, brother-in-law of the deceased, deposed in the second case and said that he rushed to hospital after hearing about an armed attack on the victims. But, Mr Rizvi was pronounced dead and his friend sustained wounds, who told them about the incident, he said. Both cases were put off till Aug 2.