ATC acquits ‘MQM militant’ of double murder charges

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday acquitted an alleged commander of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) militant wing in a case pertaining to the target killings of two people on ethnic grounds.

The ATC-VII judge absolved Umair Siddiqui, alias Jailor, from the charges of murders of Iqbal Hussain and Niaz Gul, observing that the prosecution failed to prove the offence on the accused nor could bring unshakeable testimonies against him in the court.

Umair, apparently in his 30s, was a worker of the MQM whose name came into limelight after he was arrested during a raid at Nine Zero on March 11, 2015. The Rangers claimed that he was the handler of the party’s one of the most notorious target killing teams.

According to a press release issued by the Rangers then, the suspect had been leading a team of 23 shooters who would carry out terrorism activities in the city on the directives of then Karachi manager of the party Hammad Siddiqi.

Umair was said to be employed at a public hospital in Liaquatabad as a computer programmer and volunteered at the MQM’s election cell. He was alleged to have killed or ordered to kill over 100 people in the city.

He was implicated in the double murder case over his “confession” during interrogation with the Rangers in his detention of 90 days under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). He also faces a similar case in the same court for the murders of two paramilitary personnel.

The case was registered under the sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempting to murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Section 7 of the ATA for the murders of Gul and Hussain during firing at a tea hotel in Gulshan-e-Maymar in April 2013.

PSP workers killing

Meanwhile, another ATC adjourned the hearing of the murder case of two Pak Sarzameen Party workers until February 10 after the police informed the court that proclamation process against the absconding suspects was under way.

The ATC-XIV had ordered initiation of proceedings under sections 87 and 88 of the criminal procedure code against seven people, including MQM founding chief Altaf Hussain, after they failed to surrender before the court despite repeated notices.

Two PSP workers, Naeem Ramzan and Azhar Rehmatullah, were killed and as many, Fahad Hussain and Muhammad Yasir, were injured in firing by armed pillion riders on their party office in Rizvia Society neighbourhood on December 23, 2018.

The police had named Altaf, Asif Hasnain Siddiqui, Muhammad Jameel, Muhammad Asad Khan, Muhammad Saleem, Junaid and Bisma Naz as absconders wanted in the case. Nine people, Syed Raza Ali, Qazi Anisur Rehman, Sheharyar, Rehman, Mohsin Ahmed, Ghufran Ahmed, Zameeruddin, Tanzeem Ahmed Khan and Syed Waqas Haider, are in custody.

The charge sheet against the arrested suspects read that they confessed to their crime and told the investigators that the attack was carried out on the instructions of leaders of the MQM’s South African and Indian setups.

The FIR of the incident was registered under the sections 302, 324 (attempt to murder), 109 (punishment of abetment), 111 (liability or abettor), 112 (abettor when liable to cumulative punishment), 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) and 34 of the PPC read with the sections 7 and 21(i) of the ATA at the Rizvia Society police station.