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State fails to establish proof against Zardari

By Akhgar Anwar Awan

The state has so far spent more than Rs20 million on the investigation into the Mir Murtaza Bhutto Murder Case yet it has failed to substantiate its allegations against Asif Ali Zardari.

This argument was advanced by Barrister Azizullah K Shaikh, counsel for principle accused Asif Ali Zardari, during hearing of a plea in which quashment of proceedings against Asif Zardari in the case had been solicited.

"The high-level inquiry into the murder was held at the Flag Staff House which suffered damage at the hands of police personnel and press photographers and repairs cost Rs10 million. Later, a Scotland Yard team, comprising highly qualified investigators and criminologists, helped the local police with the investigation and another Rs10 million was paid to them.

Besides, investigations by Pakistan investigators also incurred thousands of rupees. Yet despite all this, there’s no evidence against Asif Zardari who is languishing in jail in this case for the last eight years", said Azizullah Shaikh while pleading the quashment application before a Sindh High Court (SHC) bench on Monday.

The bench headed by Justice Ghulam Rabbani, however, noted that the notice issued to Noor Muhammad, complainant in the case, had returned unacknowledged and ordered that the notice be sent afresh to the complainant for the next hearing.

It is pertinent to mention that the quashment petition filed by former IG, Sindh, Shoaib Suddle, and his subordinates Roy Tahir, Wajid Durrani, Zeeshan Kazmi (later murdered), and others are also pending in the SHC. The petitioners have approached the SHC after the trial court had dismissed their applications seeking their acquittal under Section 249-A CrPC for want of evidence. The trial judge had dismissed their acquittal applications with the observation that a case had been made out against them and their fate would be decided in the final judgment of the case.

Petitioner Asif Ali Zardari has taken the plea through Barrister Azizullah K Shaikh that there is no probability that he could be convicted on the basis of evidence recorded so far by the trial court because nothing incriminating has so far come on record. The evidence of the remaining prosecution witnesses, it has further been pleaded, is on the point of actual incident on 20-09-1996 near the "Do Talwar" round-about, where admittedly, Asif Zardari was not present at the time of incident.

While pointing out certain procedural lapses in the case, The counsel has pleaded that the investigation was conducted by Sub-Inspector Khan Waris, SSP A D Khoja, and AIG Crimes, Noor Ahmed Peecheho one by one and different secret agencies had carried out their investigations separately yet they could not find concrete evidence to justify Asif Zardari’s implication in this case.

He argued that interim charge-sheet in the case was submitted on February 13, 1997, and thereafter no final charge-sheet was submitted and the trial judge was pleased to treat the interim charge-sheet as final.

The prosecution, however, filed a final charge-sheet on May 3, 1997, to which the objections of the defence were overruled by the trial judge. He said on the basis of evidence recorded so far no case was made out against Asif Ali Zardari and continuation of proceedings against him would amount to abuse of the process of law.

 



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