KARACHI: An antiterrorism court reserved on Wednesday its judgement in a case registered against a provincial lawmaker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement relating to alleged distribution of compact discs (CDs) containing anti-state speeches.

MPA Shiraz Waheed; Naeem Shamshad; Mohammad Shoaib; Danish Saeed; Mubeen, alias Pakistani; M. Nabeel; Waqas; Ali Hasan, alias Guddu and Syed Azhar Ali alias Anna have been charged with distributing CDs, which contained speeches and statements to wage war against the state, among the people in an Ahsanabad locality in 2016.

On Wednesday, the matter came up before the ATC-II judge, when detained suspect Mubeen was produced before the court from prison while others appeared on bail.

The judge reserved her order after hearing final arguments from the special public prosecutor and the defence counsel for the accused and adjourned the hearing till Oct 5.

In final arguments, prosecutor Nazir Ahmed Bhangwar contended that the MPA along with his around 15 absconding accomplices had allegedly distributed CDs, which contained speeches and statements of MQM chief Altaf Hussain to wage war or attempt or abet to wage war against the country, among the people in Ahsanabad.

He further contended that the prosecution had enough evidence, including 32 such CDs recovered by the police from the custody of the MPA at the time of his arrest, and other material to prove the allegations against the accused. He pleaded to convict them in accordance with the law.

On the other hand, the defence counsel argued that the police framed their clients in the present case with mala fide intentions and had levelled false and fabricated charges against them in the present case.

The counsel pleaded with the court to acquit their clients and that they were innocent and have nothing to do with the offence.

A case was registered under relevant sections of the law at the SITE Superhighway Industrial Area police station.

Prosecution witnesses summoned in Naqeebullah case

An antiterrorism court summoned on Wednesday three prosecution witnesses to testify against former SSP Rao Anwar and other policemen in a case pertaining to killing of four men, including aspiring Waziristan model Naqeebullah Mehsud, in a ‘staged’ encounter.

Then SSP Anwar, then DSP Qamar Ahmed Shaikh along with their 16 subordinates have been charged with kidnapping the four men for ransom and then killing them by declaring them militants linked to the banned Daesh (the Arabic acronym for the militant Islamic State group) and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, foisting fake recoveries of weapons and explosives and hiding the evidence of the ‘fake’ encounter in January 2018.

On Wednesday, the matter was fixed before the ATC-III judge for the cross-examination of eyewitness Mohammad Qasim.

However, the complainant’s counsel Salahuddin Panhwar moved an application submitting that the witness could not appear as he was unwell and pleaded to condone his absence for the day.

Two other witnesses — Hazrat Ali and Shaheen Zaman — were present.

Allowing the application, the judge directed Qasim and two other witnesses to appear on the next date and fixed the matter on Oct 8.

According to the prosecution, Naseemullah Mehsud, aka Naqeebullah, 27, was killed along with three others, Sabir, Nazar Jan and Ishaq, in a fake encounter in Shah Latif Town on Jan 13, 2018.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2019