Atif Zaman denied bail as complainant alleges she is receiving death threats

A sessions court on Saturday dismissed a bail application filed by Atif Zaman in the DHA double murder case on the grounds that apparently there were sufficient evidences available against him.

The additional district and sessions judge of South IV at the judicial complex inside the Central Prison pronounced his verdict after listening to the arguments from the prosecution and the defence.

The judge observed that in the light of the arguments submitted by the prosecution and the complainant, it appeared that prime facie sufficient incriminating evidences were available against the accused; therefore, he was not entitled to bail.

The court had previously framed charges on Atif for murdering anchorperson Mureed Abbas and Khizar Hayat. Meanwhile, the judge had declared the absconding accused, Atif’s brother Adil Zaman, a proclaimed offender.

Atif through his lawyer had moved an application in the court seeking bail after arrest on the grounds that he was falsely implicated in the case and the incarceration was taking away his right to free trial.

On the other hand, the lawyer representing the complainant Zara Khan, wife of Mureed, opposed the application, arguing that setting free the accused would be tantamount to letting him get away from the clutches of the law.

Following the pronouncement of the verdict, Zara expressed satisfaction over the rule of law, saying that she was hopeful to get justice from the courts. She said however the process was lengthy and troublesome.

Talking to The News, she said: “They [the accused] think that a woman is weak and would succumb to their delaying and intimidating tactics. But I would not be scared of them and will fight till I get justice.”

She added that the accused were delivering threats to her that she must withdraw from the case and reach a compromise out of the court, otherwise she may face the same fate as Mureed.

According to the prosecution, Atif in aide of his brother killed the two people minutes apart in Defence Housing Authority on July 9, 2019. Both the victims were Atif’s business partners and were demanding their money back, it added.

He called Abbas and Hayat at different places in DHA on the pretext of returning some of the owed amount, the charge sheet read. He first shot Hayat at a traffic signal and later went to kill Abbas in an office.

Meanwhile, the court has bifurcated the case for Adil, who has been absconding since the Supreme Court revoked his bail in September 2020. He will be charged separately after he is arrested again.

Atif was taken in custody soon after the incident when police raided his apartment but he shot himself in the torso. He was then shifted to a private hospital for treatment.

Adil was nabbed in October 2019 from a northern part of the country. However, a sessions court granted him bail in June 2020 following which Zara had moved to the appellate forum against it.

She deplored that the case had seen a fair share of dramatic delays since the beginning and they were continuing, since the indictment took over one and a half years ago in February 2021 and so far no witnesses had been examined by the court.