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KARACHI: An antiterrorism court has acquitted former provincial home minister Dr Zulfikar Ali Mirza along with his 26 aides in a 2015 case pertaining to attempted murder, rioting, ransacking and causing terror in Badin in 2015.
The estranged PPP leader along with his 26 aides was exonerated of the charges as the prosecution failed to prove its case in six years.
In April, the same court had acquitted Mr Mirza in an identical case pertaining to allegedly storming a police station in Badin, abusing and threatening police officials for not registering his complaint against the then president Asif Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and others.
On Thursday, the ATC-I judge pronounced his judgement on applications filed by Dr Mirza and co-accused seeking their acquittal under Section 265-K of the criminal procedure code (CrPC).
Mr Mirza and others appeared before the court on bail.
The judge observed that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations against the applicant. The court allowed the applications and acquitted Dr Mirza and others.
In April this year, the judge had reserved his judgement on the acquittal pleas filed by Mr Mirza and others in August 2017.
According to the prosecution, Dr Mirza along with his 26 nominated and some 50-60 unidentified aides, who were allegedly armed with deadly weapons, had ransacked a shop of complainant Imtiaz Ali Memon, a worker of the then ruling PPP, resorted to firing with an intention to kill him due to political enmity on May 3, 2015.
Defence counsel Ashraf Samoon had contended that none of the private witnesses examined by the investigating officer had supported the prosecution’s case, as they had refused to confirm the alleged recovery of weapons.
Order reserved in vaccine theft case
A sessions’ court reserved on Friday an order on bail applications of four suspects booked in a case pertaining to allegedly stealing Covid-19 vaccines from government stocks and administering them to the public at homes in Karachi for money.
Retired Major Amanullah Sultan; owner of a private health service provider company M/s Sultan Madad Private Limited, his employee Mohammad Ali and four vaccination staffers — Tahira Bano, Waqas, Mohammad Zeeshan and Abdul Samad — have been booked and detained for allegedly administering stolen vaccine to the general public at their homes against monetary gains in Saddar.
On Friday, additional district and sessions’ judge (South) Shahid Ali Memon reserved his judgement on bail pleas of the four suspects.
The judge fixed Aug 9 for pronouncement of his verdict on the bail pleas filed by Sultan, Ali, Bano and Waqas.
Currently, Sultan, Ali and Zeeshan are in judicial custody while Bano and Waqas are on interim bail.
A sixth suspect Abdul Samad is in police custody on physical remand.