Sunni Tehreek man jailed for 14 years

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday awarded 14-year rigorous imprisonment to an activist of the Sunni Tehreek (ST) for his involvement in terrorist activities.

Imran alias Changezi was tried by ATC (IX) for possession of explosive materials and illicit weapons.

According to the court, the prosecution had managed to prove the charges levelled against the accused, who was arrested last year.

China-cutting

An Accountability Court (AC) brought on record evidence provided by a prosecution witness in a ‘china-cutting’ reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The witnesses claimed that the accused had made large sums of money by selling 1,200 plots.

The case was filed against Farid Ahmed Yousfani, former director of the Lines Area Settlement Project (LASP), its deputy director Farid Naseem, and other officials including Shahid Umer, Atta Abbas and a few others.

The court directed the accused’ attorney to cross-examine the witness at the next hearing.

Previously another witness had gotten his statement recorded, and had confirmed the allegation levelled by NAB authorities against the accused.

Some 12 accused, including Muhammad Rafique, Akbari Begum and Asghari Begum, had already been declared proclaimed offenders in the case.

The court directed NAB to initiate proceedings against the absconders, which included confiscation of their moveable and immovable properties.

The NAB had filed a reference pertaining to corruption worth Rs5 billion.

According to NAB, Yousfani and others were involved in illegal allotment to builders and land grabbers, besides 'China-cutting', a term often used for illegal plotting and sale of the state's land.

It was alleged that the money collected from land grabbing and illegal sale was used for funding terrorism.