A anti-terrorism court recorded Islamabad Duty Magistrate Muhammad Ali Randhawa’s statement at the Adiala Jail while hearing Salmaan Taseer murder case on Saturday. ATC Judge Raja Akhlaq Hussain recorded Randhawa’s statement and adjourned hearing of the case till May 14, 2011 while the defence lawyers would cross-examine the magistrate on the next date of hearing. Self-confessed assassin of former Punjab governor Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri was also present in the courtroom during the hearing of the case. While taking to journalists outside the courtroom, Defence Lawyer Habib-ul-Haq said the prosecution had the list of over 40 eyewitnesses who would record their statements before the court.
A large number of activists of Shabab-e-Islami Pakistan (SIP), Sunni Tehrik (ST) and Muttahida Sunni Council (MSC), led by Mufti Muhammad Hanif Qureshi, Allama Tahir Iqbal Chishti and Mufti Awais Aziz, staged a demonstration outside the Adiala Jail demanding Qadri’s immediate release. The demonstrators were carrying flags of their parties, placards, banners and portraits of Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri.
