Ajmal Pahari, a man allegedly involved in killing more than 100 citizens, was acquitted on Tuesday by a district court for want of evidence. Pahari was produced before Additional District and Session (Central) Judge Rashida Siddiqui on Tuesday, with hearing held at the Judicial Complex in the premises of Central Prison Karachi in a case pertaining to the murder of a man named Ehtisham, who was killed in 2008 in an incident reported in the jurisdiction of Rizvia police station.
The suspect’s counsel Zia Alam argued that the prosecution failed to produce any evidence linking his client to the offence. After hearing final arguments from both sides, the court found the suspect innocent since the prosecution could not prove its case. Pahari has also been acquitted from some murder cases, but is sill facing trials in a few others dozens of the same nature. The police registered cases against the suspect under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty) and 324 (attempt to commit qatl-i-amd) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 13-D of the Arms Ordinance. Besides, two other FIRs (61/08 and153/08) were registered under Sections 302 (punishment for qatl-i-amd) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The prosecution submitted that in a preliminary interrogation, the suspect had confessed that he was involved in killing of more then 58 people, including MPA Zohair Akram Nadeem, DSP Shamim, ASI Arif Shah, Advocate Iqbal Rad, 14 activists of MQM-H in Pak Colony, 12 persons in Orangi Town, and six persons in Ranchore Line