DAWN/The News International, KARACHI 22 January 2000, Saturday, 14 Shawwal 1420
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Ignoring of KMTP condemned
Saulat Mirza's appeal dismissed
Cop shot dead amid mysterious circumstances
HYDERABAD: Blasts rock campus: Armed men raid varsity, disrupt exam process
FIA to probe against Nawaz in fertilizer import case
Taliban warn of serious reaction if Osama killed
5-year-old allegedly murdered by parents
Ignoring of KMTP condemned

KARACHI: The Muttahida members of suspended Sindh Assembly have condemned the government's action of putting the Karachi Mass Transit Programme (KMTP) in cold storage.

They said the increasing traffic congestion in Karachi and shortage of public transport had made the KMTP essential and to put the project in cold storage was an anti-Karachi policy of the government, they added.

Meanwhile, the Muttahida Coordination Committee has alleged that retrenchment of officials from Pakistan Steel and KWSB was financial murder of Mohajirs. It demanded of General Pervez Musharraf to take notice of the action. In another press release the Muttahida claimed that the party had made no contact with the PML (N) at any level.

MQM: Secretary General Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) Amir Khan has expressed deep concern over not including the KMTP in the next Sindh budget. In a statement issued on Friday, he demanded of the chief executive that vital projects like metro bus service and KMTP should be included in the next budget.

He said these projects should be inducted for the development of Karachi. He demanded that the Karachi Circular Railway should also be restored and asked the chief secretary to inform the federal government that such projects were badly needed for Karachi.

Amir said foreign funding was available for the metro bus service and it should be taken into consideration for Karachi as early as possible due to the shortage of public transport in the megacity.

Saulat Mirza's appeal dismissed

KARACHI: An appeal preferred by Saulat Ali Khan alias Saulat Mirza, convict/accused in murder case of Malik Shahid Hamid, managing director KESC, and two others was dismissed on Friday by an Anti-Terrorism Appellate Bench of the Sindh High Court.

The bench comprising Justice Hamid Ali Mirza and Justice Muhammed Ashraf Leghari announced the short order at 1:35 pm after concluding proceedings into the appeal. Assistant Advocate-General Syed Jalil A Hashmi, appearing for the state, in his final arguments submitted that the eyewitnesses in the case were crucial. He said the eyewitnesses Shahnaz Shahid Hamid, Umar Shahid Hamid and Mirza Tariq Baig were "natural witnesses" and admissible under the law. He submitted that while recording confessional statement of the accused/appellant all legal formalities were adhered to.

Responding to a plea of the defence regarding the issue of licence of the alleged crime weapon recovered on the pointation of the accused, Hashmi submitted that even if the plea by the defence is taken, Section 13 is established. He added that the recovered crime weapon and crime empties corresponded as stated by the ballistic expert in his report. He said the arrest of the accused and the medical evidence (regarding the deceased) had not been challenged by the defence and as such the prosecution case was established beyond doubt.

Azizullah K Shaikh, leading defence counsel, in his arguments on Wednesday and Thursday censured the prosecution's case and said the eyewitnesses erred in the identification of the accused as they, according to the prosecution's own story, only had a glimpse of the accused while the assailants were fleeing.

The defence counsel said one of the witness Saeed, a cook of Shahid Hamid, who was present in the kitchen, saw the whole incident from window, and he refused to identify the convict before judicial magistrate. The counsel submitted that on refusal of Saeed, police produced another witness, namely Tariq Javed, who was a police tout, for the identification of Saulat Mirza. He said Tariq Javed identified the accused before the court and a judicial magistrate, but he was not present at the spot.

The incident occurred on July 5, 1997, in which Shahid Hamid, his gunman Khan Akbar and driver Ashraf Brohi, both employees of KESC, were shot dead by unidentified assailants. Shahnaz had blamed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for the murder of her husband.

Saulat Mirza, claimed to be a Muttahida activist and dubbed by police as a hardcore terrorist, was arrested after a year or more from the Karachi airport when he returned from abroad. According to the prosecution, a Kalashnikov was also recovered from a Muttahida sector office on pointation of the accused. He was tried by a military trial court and later by the ATC-V headed by Judge Javed Alam. The accused was held guilty of the triple murder and sentenced to death on three murder counts after which the present appeal was filed. Mansoob Qureshi appeared for the accused/convict.

Cop shot dead amid mysterious circumstances

KARACHI: A cop of Federal B Industrial Area police deputed at a kiosk, established near Sohrab Goth in District Central, was gunned down under mysterious circumstances at the kiosk early Friday morning.

Head Constable Ali Muhammad of the F B Industrial Area police, deputed along with his colleague, Abdul Salam, at a kiosk, told the police investigators that they were performing their duties at the post situated near Sohrab Goth. In the meantime, Ali said, he had left the post to obey the call of nature. When returned he found Salam lying lifeless on the ground with a bullet wound in his skull.

Seeing his colleague lying in a pool of blood, Ali informed his officers at the police station. They later shifted the corpse to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Ali also told the investigators that he returned to the kiosk, when he heard gunshots.

Sources said that the cop, who was gunned down amid mysterious circumstances, hailed from Sanghar district and was in his mid-30s. He was unmarried and was posted at the F B Industrial Area police station soon after it was established last year. The cop was serving the Karachi police for the last eight years and he did not have enmity with anyone in the city.

The police registered the case and were investigating. Meanwhile, the CIA arrested four accused, Saghir-ul-Hasan, Muhammad Rafique, Ata Muhammad and a woman Nazia, after a shootout in Clifton police limits and recovered pistols and a snatched car from them.

MISHAPS: Muhammad Khalid, 12, son of Muhammad Hanif, was found unconscious at his residence in Mominabad. His parents took him to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in critical condition, where he breathed his last. The MLO, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, said that the deceased died due to food poisoning. However, he preserved his viscera for chemical examination.

An unidentified, 13-year-old boy was knocked to death, when a speeding hit-and-run vehicle ran him over near German School at Gulshan-e-Bihar in Orangi Town police limits, while he was going on his bicycle.

MURDERED: Abdul Qudoos, 22, son of Abdul Jabbar received stab wounds when unidentified people attacked him with sharp edged weapon in Mobina Town police jurisdiction, while he was standing outside his residence.

His relatives took him to private hospital in critical condition, where he succumbed to his wounds. Later the body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. According to police the murder took place due to old enmity.

LOOTED: Unidentified people stole US dollars and travellers cheques worth Rs 5,000,000 from the Allied Bank zonal office branch in Ferozabad police limits.

Four armed men barged into the residence of Naveed Kazi, 83/1, Khayaban-e-Sara, in Darakshan police limit. The armed men, at gunpoint, locked all the inmates in a room. They collected Rs 250,000, jewellery worth Rs 1,000,000, three rifles and other valuables and fled.

Three bandits barged into the flat of Lal Khan at Jumani Arcade in New Town police limits. The armed men locked all the inmates in a room and collected Rs 50,000, gold ornaments and electrical appliances.

Meanwhile, one of the neighbour's informed the police about the incident. The police reached the spot, while the bandits were escaping. The robbers opened fire. Police retaliated and arrested a bandit, Shahbaz, while his accomplices fled along with the booty.

Armed men looted Rs 18,000, jewellery, licence revolver and other valuables from the residence of Ayoub.

Car-lifters snatched four cars and eight motorcycles from different parts of the city, while city police claimed that they recovered seven cars, two motorcycles and one rickshaw from the metropolis.

HYDERABAD: Blasts rock campus: Armed men raid varsity, disrupt exam process
HYDERABAD, Jan 21: Miscreants again resorted to firing and cracker explosions at the Sindh university hostels for the second consecutive night on Thursday as a result of which a large number of students were forced to leave the hostels and the university authorities were forced to postpone the ongoing first semester examinations for four days.

Several students, including Mian Shabbir, Khalid Lund and Sarfaraz Chandio were injured in cracker explosion.

According to reports, miscreants struck at 11.30 pm on Thursday night and exploded many a cracker and also resorted to firing at the hostels with a view to disrupting the ongoing examinations.

As the law enforcement agencies rushed to the spot, the hoodlums disappeared from the scene. However, due to fear the hostlers vacated the rooms and left for their villages. The law enforcement agencies surrounded the hostel and also searched the rooms.

It may be pointed out here that the Sindh Governor, who is also the chancellor of universities of Sindh, was here on Thursday and he had warned that no terrorist activities will be allowed in the educational institutions.

Following the incident, a meeting of deans and university officials was held at the campus to discuss the obtaining situation.

The meeting which was presided over by Vice Chancellor Dr Rashid A. Shah was also attended by commissioner Imtiaz Kazi.

The meeting decided to postpone the ongoing examinations for four days. The examinations will now be resumed on Jan 25, and the papers which were to be held on Jan 21, 22 and 24 will now be held after the completion of the semester examinations.

The meeting also decided to beef up security at the campus and to take strict action against the culprits.

The university authorities have appealed to the educationists, intellectuals and journalists to support the Sindh university and save the alma mater from the disruptionist forces.

The university authorities have reiterated that they will not succumb to any blackmail of the miscreants who are wanted in criminal cases by the police.

According to a university source, the same so-called leaders of the action committee are involved in firing incidents whose admissions have already been cancelled and who had earlier disrupted the students' week, torched the point bus and destroyed the telephone exchange.

PROTEST RALLY: A large number of students of Sindh university belonging to Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Students Federation (STPSF) and Sindh National Students Front (SNSF) staged a protest demonstration at the campus against the cracker attacks by the "goondas of the so called students action committee", postponement of examinations and the lenient attitude of the university administration towards the hoodlums.

Addressing the rally, student leaders, Peer Jamal Khuhro, Moosa Malik, Shaukat Abbasi and others said that by postponing the examinations, the university administration had succumbed to the blackmail of hoodlums.

A delegation of students also met with the vice chancellor who assured that the disruptionists will be arrested, examinations will be resumed soon and the genuine problems will be resolved.

MUET: Meanwhile, students of the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, have also launched a protest movement against the 75 per cent attendance marks and the "term back" policy announced by the university.

The students action committee of 94 and 95 batches have said that the students will resist any move of rejecting the forms of 250 students and the "term back policy" of 97 and 95 batches.

STPSF: The Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Students Federation, Mehran university chapter, at an urgent meeting held under the chairmanship of Dur Mohammad Mirani, has also condemned the condition of 75 per cent attendance and the term back policy of the university.

The meeting observed that these abrupt decisions without any previous warning had put at stake the future of hundreds of students.

They announced that the federation would launch a 'resistance movement' against the decisions of the vice chancellor which were based on mala fide intentions.

The meeting supported the protest movement launched by the students action committee and appealed to the Sindh Governor to remove the vice chancellor.

FIA to probe against Nawaz in fertilizer import case
ISLAMABAD, Jan 21: The government has ordered a probe against Nawaz Sharif and a former minister, Abdul Sattar Lalika, for allegedly importing damaged Triple Phosphate Fertilizer worth Rs52 million from China, during the 1998-99 season.

An FIA inspector, Hazrat Ali, has been appointed as the inquiry officer of the case.

Sources said the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) has directed the FIA to produce the relevant record of import and the names and addresses of the concerned officials, dealing with the import of fertilizers.

Official sources told Dawn, here on Friday, that earlier, the same case had been brought to the notice of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). However, instead of acting on their own, they directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate the matter and submit their findings to it so that further action could be taken, against the two prime- accused, in a court of law.

Sources said the FIA has reported that top officials of the relevant ministry have also been reportedly involved in the import of fertilizer from China and that the inquiry has been initiated. They alleged that Mr Sharif and Mr Lalika had connived with Minfal officials for importing substandard Triple Phosphate Fertilizer (TPF) from China which had been labelled 'misfit and damaged.'

Sources said the agriculture ministry has been asked to provide relevant records to the FIA officials.

Taliban warn of serious reaction if Osama killed
KABUL, Jan 21: The Taliban government has warned the United States of a serious reaction if terrorism suspect Osama bin Laden is killed or arrested, official Radio Shariat said on Friday.

A senior Taliban official, Mulla Amir Khan Muttaqi, made the comment while talking to US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Karl Inderfurth, and Michael Sheehan, State Department couter-terrorism coordinator, in Islamabad on Thursday, the radio added.

Muttaqi said that if bin Laden was killed or arrested, there would be a serious reaction by his supporters. He also told the US officials that bin Laden posed no threat while he was in Taliban hands.

" There is no doubt that we also want a solution to the bin Laden issue, but we would like to assure you that he will not operate against you as long as he is in our hands," Muttaqi was quoted as telling the US officials.

" If he is captured or killed, there will be big reactions. Therefore, his stay in Afghanistan is in your interest.

"His supporters are not acting against the US now due to the fear that it will bring harm to bin Laden ," he said.

"Concerning bin Laden, we should say that he was a small personality. But because of your persistence, he has become not only a big personality, but also a Muslim world hero," Radio Shariat quoted Muttaqi as saying.-AFP

5-year-old allegedly murdered by parents
TORONTO, Jan 21: Toronto police on Friday called off their search for the remaining body parts of a butchered five-year-old Pakistani girl after finding the child's head on Thursday evening.

Police on Friday morning released more details about the brutal killing of Farah Jahan Khan whose father and stepmother have now been formally charged with murder of their daughter.

"Farah, who would have turned six on Feb 4, was slaughtered and her body parts were packed in garbage bags and dumped in Col Samuel Smith Waterfront Park, off Lake Ontario in Etobicoke," police officers told newsmen.

They said her fingerprints on a painting she made in her school led to the arrest of her father Mohammad Arsal Khan, 36, and stepmother Kaneez Fatima, 45.

Farah had arrived in Canada from Pakistan last April.

The incident had shocked the entire Pakistani community living here on Wednesday night when the Canadian television broke the news of the arrest of a couple for killing their daughter.

Police refused to give details about Farah's real mother. "We cannot give you more details at this stage. We are trying to contact her in Pakistan. Perhaps she does not know her young daughter has been killed," said a police officer.

Arsal Khan and Kaneez Fatima had been living in an apartment in Toronto's suburb of Etobicoke, until late December, when they moved to the Downsview area.

Detective Rolf Prisor claimed that police officers, investigating an unrelated matter at an Etobicoke school on Jan 12, were approached by a teacher with suspicions about an absent child.

The teacher told the police that Farah's parents had told the school officials that they were "taking their daughter out of the school because they were leaving the country for good."

Earlier, the discovery of Farah's remains was made by a woman, walking with her dog in an Etobicoke park, when she spotted a couple trying to hide green garbage bags under rocks at the edge of Lake Ontario.

The woman later returned to the area and opened one of the bags to discover a child's severed limbs.

Investigators searched the park and found two more bags the next day. All the child's limbs were recovered but her torso and head were still missing.

Police said they succeeded in recovering the head of the girl after hectic search operation carried out on Thursday.

Prisor said that Farah's body was cut into pieces with precision.

He declined to give more details about Mr Khan's marriage with Kaneez Fatima who is nine years older than her husband.

© DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2000
© JANG Group, 2000

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