KARACHI:
It was an unusually hot day in Karachi. At the anti-terrorism court (ATC) premises, it was all panic and confusion. Media teams had stationed themselves around the premises early in the morning. Security was on high alert as rumours were rife that the Pakistan Rangers would be bringing in a large number of suspects detained during the raid at the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) headquarters a day earlier.
The Rangers arrived at the premises late into the afternoon. They brought with them 28 men, including one of MQM’s top leaders, Amir Khan.
The Sachal wing of the Rangers submitted to the court that there was ‘credible’ information against the said persons for their involvement ‘in offences relating to target killing and terrorism activities.’ The suspects have been detained at a special cell in the central jail for 90 days.
Twenty-seven of the suspects were brought in paramilitary trucks. They were all blindfolded and paraded in queues to enter the court premises.
At this point, it was assumed that these were the only men to be presented in court by the Rangers that day. Minutes later, a vehicle marked with the ‘Ambulance’ logo entered the arena. Two Rangers personnel jumped out. They unlocked the back door and helped a handcuffed and blindfolded Amir Khan step out.
Clad in a dark sea-green starched cotton shalwar qameez, the silver-haired Khan was then added to the queue of suspects already awaiting their turn before the judge.
The suspects, one by one, were presented before the ATC-II judge. A prosecution lawyer called out their names. The judge counter-checked their identities. The suspects pleaded innocent. One said he was a former footballer who had represented the country at the international level. Another said he was just a bread maker at the kitchen of the MQM’s central office.
As the judge turned towards Khan, the last man in the queue, a heated debate ensued in the courtroom. The defence lawyers contended that the Rabita Committee member of the MQM was being treated like a war criminal. Khan pleaded to the judge, holding up his hands to show the shining silver handcuffs. “Madam, please see! I am being presented handcuffed.”
The judge responded coldly, reminding the defendant that a former prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was presented before the court with his hands tied behind his back. “This is the protocol. At least you are not handcuffed behind your back.”
Khan’s defence counsel pleaded the court to ask the prosecution ‘what credible information or evidence they had against the suspects.’ The judge responded with a counter-question whether she ‘should call evidence under the law they were being produced in court?’ The particular section did not require evidence.
The detained persons, according to the court documents, were identified as Noman Aslam, Muhammad Anwar, Muhammad Azam, Muhammad Ali, Syed Sabir Ali, Yusuf, Jahangir, Muhammad Kamran, Syed Muhammad Ali, Mirza Khalil Ahmed, Fahad Fareed, Sajid Hussain, Abdul Aziz Ansari, Ali Asghar, Muhammad Umer, Yusuf Rao alias Patel, Muhammad Imran, Salman Ahmed, Syed Nadim Ali, Muhammad Hanif, Syed Noman Shah, Imran, Farasat Ali, former MPA Yusuf Munir Sheikh, Hassan Akhtar, Aslam Khan, Khalid Rasheed and Amir Khan.
After the 28 men were taken away, another lot of suspects, this time 26 in number, were brought to the court by the Azizabad police. The court’s working hours had, however, finished for the day. The suspects were taken back and will likely be presented today (Friday).
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2015.
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