KARACHI, Oct 15: A district and sessions judge condoned the absence of in-charge of president’s security Bilal Shaikh, who is one of the accused in the Justice Nizam murder case, and directed him to appear in court on Nov 1.

Asif Ali Zardari, Akhtar Javed Pirzada, Bilal Shaikh and Babar Sindhu were nominated in the case pertaining to an attack in which Justice Nizam Ahmed of the Sindh High Court and his son Nadeem Ahmed, a lawyer, were killed on June 10, 1996. A high court bench has already acquitted Mr Zardari in the double murder case.

Mr Shaikh and Mr Sindhu filed pleas for their acquittal under Section 249-A (power of a magistrate to acquit the accused at any stage) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

When the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, Mr Shaikh’s counsel requested the court to condone the absence of his client as he was busy in Islamabad in connection with the security of President Zardari.

The district and sessions judge, central, Zaheeruddin K. Leghari, granted the request and adjourned the hearing till Nov 1. The hearing of Mr Sindhu’s plea that was fixed for Wednesday was also adjourned.

According to the prosecution, Justice Nizam and his son were travelling in a car when it was ambushed in front of their PECHS residence. Group Captain (retired) Sikandar, brother-in-law of Justice Nizam, had lodged a double murder case (FIR No 357/1996) at the Ferozabad police station. The charge-sheet stated that a dispute over a prized piece of land near the Awami Markaz on Sharea Faisal motivated the accused to attack the judge since he had opposed its commercialisation and illegal allotment in a case.