SHC reserves order on contempt plea against ex-CM
Sindh High Court has reserved order in contempt application against the former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim. President Karachi Bar Association Iftikhar Javed Qazi had filed contempt application against Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim for delivering contemptuous statements to the media on suo moto proceedings initiated by SHC over May 12 mayhem.
The applicant and his counsel did not turn up before the court on the second consecutive hearing for arguments. Earlier, Waseem Sajjad, counsel of the former CM, denied contempt of court allegation, submitting that press reports of his statement were published “out of context and distorted”.
He said that the respondent respects judiciary, adding, the application be dismissed as no case of contempt of court was made out.
SHC’s five-member bench comprised Chief Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro, Justice Munib Ahmed Khan, Justice Mrs. Qaiser Iqbal, Justice Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui and Justice Dr. Rana M Shamim.
Plot to kill Musharraf case: Defendants in the Conspiracy to kill President General Pervez Musharraf Case” rested their arguments before the Anti Terrorism Court on Friday. Six activists of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Alami – Mohammad Imran, Hanif, Ahsraf Khan, Sharib Arsalan Farooqui, suspended Rangers Inspector Waseem Akhtar and Mohammad Jameel – are charged with planning to assassinate General Musharraf.
They are charges with leaving an explosives-filled vehicle on Sharea Faisalto blow the president’s convoy, which was to pass through there on April 24, 2002. However, they failed in their attempt.
Counsel for the defendants Abdul Waheed Katpar submitted an application, stating that defence side be closed as it did not want to place witnesses in their support. ATC Judge Ghulam Ali Samtio, who is conducting trial inside Central Prison Karachi, fixed November 24 for hearing final arguments of both sides.
The trial is being re-conducted by the ATC following judgment by Sindh High Court in November last year, which set aside previous conviction of Imran, Haneef and Ashraf Khan by the ATC and remanded back the case for retrial, observing that the trial court erred in appreciating the prosecution’s case by not framing murder charges against appellants. On October 18, 2003, the ATC had sentenced them to 10 years in prison after finding them guilty for the offence of conspiracy to commit murder on President Musharraf. Co-accused Waseem Akhtar and Sharib Arsalan Farooqui were acquitted as the trial court gave them benefit of doubt.
Source: The News
Date:11/24/2007
” 
” 
” 
” 
” 
