The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi on Friday adjourned hearing of the Benazir Bhutto murder case till May 14 owing to murder of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Prosecutor Chaudary Zulfiqar Ali.
On Friday, ATC judge Chaudary Habibur Rehman resumed hearing of the high-profile murder case and investigation officer Khalid Rasool told the court that the special public prosecutor for the case had been killed en route to court, earlier in the morning. He requested the court to adjourn hearing of the case.
Barrister Salman Safdar, counsel for Pervez Musharaf also agreed to adjourn the hearing due to the death of the senior prosecutor. Following this, the court adjourned the hearing without any proceedings, till May 14, while a plea was accepted granting Musharraf exemption from appearing in person due to security threats.
Assassinated prosecutor Chaudary Zulfiqar Ali was also a prosecutor in the Mumbai Terror Attacks case since 2008.
Following Ali’s murder, lawyers of Rawalpindi and Islamabad announced boycotting court proceedings in lower and High Courts and a full-day strike was announced with no lawyer appearing before any court. Islamabad High Court Bar Association, District Bar Association, Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association and its district bar also announced a strike during the day.
Chaudary Khalid, a lawyer, said during the last few weeks, lawyers of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been targeted and senior lawyers are being killed and tortured while no culprit has been arrested as yet.
Chaudary Muhammad Khan was gunned down last month in Rawalpindi but despite a suo moto notice by the Supreme Court, no accused has been arrested. Basharatullah Khan and Mujeebur Rehman Kiani were also kidnapped and brutally tortured from Rawalpindi and Islamabad in separate incidents, he added.
Lawyers called for early arrest of culprits, appealing that Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry take suo moto notice of Zulfiqar Ali’s assassination.
