KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has summoned several former police officials, who had been exonerated by the trial court in the Mir Murtaza Bhutto murder case, in an over 13-year-old appeal against their acquittal.

When a two-judge bench, headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, was informed that seven respondents/accused persons had passed away during pendency of the appeal, the court ordered the police authorities to verify their deaths.

Noor Mohammad, an associate of Murtaza Bhutto, had filed an appeal in January 2010 in the SHC against the judgement of a sessions court, which had exonerated around 20 accused persons, mostly the then police officers, in December 2009 in the murder case of Murtaza Bhutto and his associates.

The then DIG, Shoaib Suddle, director-general of the Intelligence Bureau Masood Sharif, SSP Wajid Durrani, ASP Shahid Hayat, ASP Rai Mohammed Tahir, SHO of the Napier Police Station Inspector Agha Mohammed Jameel, Sub-Inspector Shabbir Ahmed Qaimkhani, ASI Abdul Basit, head-constables Faisal Hafeez and Raja Hameed and around 10 constables were among the acquitted persons and had been impleaded as respondents in the appeal.

Seven respondents had passed away during pendency of an appeal, court told

Murtaza Bhutto, the chief of the Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto), along with his seven associates and supporters was killed on Sept 20, 1996 near his Clifton residence in an alleged shootout with police.

At the outset of the hearing, the bench noted that notices were issued to the respondents at the previous hearing, but 11 of them were found absent without any intimation.

Thus, the court summoned them for Dec 13 and directed SHO/investigating officer of the Clifton police station to serve the same and also directed the SSP concerned to ensure serving of notices upon the respondents.

However, the counsel for some respondents submitted that Masood Sharif, Wajid Durrani, Shahid Hayat, Shabbir Qaimkhani, Agha Jameel, Ghulam Shabbir and the then constable Muslim Shah had passed away.

The bench directed the SHO/IO concerned to verify the deaths of these respondents/accused persons and submit reports at the next hearing.

The same bench also took up a connected appeal, filed against acquittal of six associates of Murtaza Bhutto in a 1996 case pertaining to an armed attack on a police team, for hearing.

An additional prosecutor general told the bench that the appellant in this appeal as well as the complainant of the FIR Shahid Hayat had also died.

However, a lawyer presented a power of attorney (vakalatnama) on behalf of one Raja Mohammad Hanif and claimed that his client was the complainant in this case.

The bench directed the counsel to verify the status of Mr Hanif at the next hearing (Dec 13).

In December 2009, the trial court had also acquitted six PPP-SB workers including Dr Mazhar Memon, Ghulam Mustafa, Asif Ali, Mehmood, Akhtar Ali and Asghar Ali in a counter FIR for allegedly wounding two officials and killing a taxi driver.

The prosecution claimed that on Sept 20, 1996 Murtaza Bhutto and his supporters were coming back after attending a public meeting in Surjani Town when the police intercepted them near his Clifton residence to check the vehicles and arrest some workers wanted in a criminal case.

The prosecution claimed that the accused allegedly fired at police, wounding ASP Shahid Hayat and SHO of Clifton Inspector Haq Nawaz Sial and killing a taxi driver, Muhammad Bachal.

It may be recalled that former president Asif Ali Zardari was also among the accused in the Murtaza Bhutto murder case and the SHC had exonerated him in April 2008 by allowing his revision application filed against the trial court order rejecting Mr Zardari’s acquittal plea.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2023