ATC accepts charge sheets against ‘MQM hitman’

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An anti-terrorism court on Friday accepted two charge sheets against suspected hitman Yusuf alias Thelewala in cases pertaining to the possession of explosives and illicit arms.Police in November had announced the arrest of Thelewala who, according to them, was allegedly involved in 96 murders, including military men, political rivals and police informers. According to police, the suspect was associated with the pro-Altaf Hussain faction of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), also dubbed as the MQM-London.Earlier, speaking at a press conference, the then SSP East Ghulam Azfar Mahesar, who has now been removed owing to a controversy linked with the case, said that the suspect had been associated with the party since 1995 and involved in targeted killings the same year. Mahesar had claimed that Yusuf along with his other accomplices was directly involved in killing of 30 people and disposed of at least 66 dead bodies which made him an expert at the job and brought him notoriety as Thelewala [the cart man].However, police have not yet produced in the court any document which implicates the suspect in murders. Instead, the police have told the court that they are working on the relevant cases and will furnish the reports with the court accordingly.The charge sheets approved for the hearing were registered under sections 23(1)(a) of the Sindh Arms Act and 4 and 5 of the Explosives Substances Act at the Soldier Bazar police station.May 12 caseAnother ATC issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest for four people belonging to different parties in a case pertaining to May 12, 2007 violence in the city.The ATC-II issued warrants against Abdul Bari Kakar, Habibullah, Mushtaq and Wakil Khan and ordered police to arrest them and present in the court by January 14. The court was recently tasked the case by the ATCs administrative judge. The case is registered against the four nominated persons and more than 400 others belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party, Awami National Party and Jamaat-e-Islami.According to the prosecution, these political parties took out rallies on Sharea Faisal on May 12, 2007 and their activists resorted to a clash with the activists of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, creating unrest. Some leaders and activists of the MQM already face trial in over a dozen cases of the violence and murder pertaining to May 12, 2007. Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar, who was then adviser to chief minister on home affairs, has been indicted in four such cases. At least 40 people were killed and several were injured as riots broke out in the city on the eve of the then deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s arrival in the city to address a lawyers’ gathering.The 12 May cases were registered at different police stations in the city under the sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempt to commit murder), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 427 (mischief causing damage to amount of the fifty rupees) and 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to amount of one hundred rupees or—in case of agriculture produce—ten rupees) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

from The News International - Karachi https://ift.tt/36RWuyo
The News International - Karachi