KARACHI: The Sindh Prosecutor General’s office has requested the inspector general of police (IGP) to take strict legal action against the team investigating the Mustafa Amir murder case as they brought prime suspect Armaghan for a confessional statement Saturday without informing the prosecution.

Armaghan was sent to prison after he refused to record his confessional statement before Judicial Magistrate (South) Aasim Aslam.

This was not the first such instance. Earlier on March 3, Syed Shiraz Hussain Bukhari, another suspect and alleged accomplice of Armaghan, was also similarly remanded to jail after he refused to record his confessional statement before a magistrate.

This time, the prosecutor general’s (PG) office has filed a formal complaint to the IGP against the police officers who were part of the investigation team.

In the letter, the IGP was informed that in a high-profile case involving the brutal murder of a young boy — allegedly killed by the suspects — the police had failed to comply with the instructions, guidelines and legal advice provided by the PG office through its Special Public Prosecutor Zulfiqar Ali Arain.

It alleged that the investigation team of the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) had damaged the prosecution’s case. It added that the prosecution had issued strict directions regarding the case. However, the police did not file any prior application, neither in court nor by consulting the PG office for legal advice.

The letter recalled that the police had deliberately filed applications under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to record the statement of Syed Shiraz, which was declined by the court. Similarly, on Saturday, an application was filed for Armaghan, who also refused to confess his guilt before the magistrate.

It added that Armaghan had already recorded his ‘confession’ before a senior superintendent of police under Section 21-H (conditional admissibility of confession) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, which the letter claimed is admissible under the law.

The PG office requested the Sindh police chief to take strict legal action against the police officials directly involved in filing the confessional applications and undermining the prosecution’s case with ill intent or ulterior motives.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025