SC disposes of Shahzeb murder suo motu case
23 February, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Disposing of Shahzeb Khan murder suo motu case, the Supreme Court has directed the trial court to conduct the proceedings on a daily basis and conclude the matter within seven days, according to the provisions of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, also said in its order that the monitoring judges of the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court will oversee the trial till its conclusion. Responding to the plea of the accused, Shahrukh Jatoi, the court said that the trial should be fair and no right of the accused should be prejudiced due to the proceedings in the apex court. The court directed an FIA director general to submit his report on the failure of Sindh staff of the agency to first stop Shahrukh from escaping the country and then ascertaining how he had fled. Earlier, FIA's Karachi Director Muhammad Malik admitted that Shahrukh had escaped in a deceitful manner and managed to avoid the immigration counter at the Jinnah International Airport. Chief Justice Iftikhar observed that the FIA has admitted it first failed to stop the accused, a young boy, from escaping to the UAE although Muhammad Malik had on the insistence of PPP MNA Nabeel Gabol alerted his staff in Karachi on December 25 last year. Later, they failed to determine how he managed his escape avoiding the immigration counters, Chief Justice Iftikhar remarked after going through the report submitted by the FIA officials. The FIA Karachi head claimed that Shahrukh boarded the plane with the help of two or three protocol officers of the Pakistan International Airlines. About the CCTV footage, the official said the Airport Security Force (ASF) authorities had informed them that they had already handed over the footage to the police. On this, DIG Shahid Hayat said they have received 90 CDs and examined the evidence thoroughly, but found nothing that would show how the accused left the airport. "The escape of the accused underlines the fact that the law enforcers promote the crime. They would remain unaware if any person involved in any heinous crimes escapes from the country through airports," observed Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed. Adjourning the hearing about the investigation of FIA into the escape episode for ten days, the court disposed of the suo motu case about the Shahzeb murder case as far as police investigation is concerned. End.
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