Karachi court awards death sentence in TV anchor Mureed Abbas murder case

Finally, after a wait of seven years, a court in Karachi on Thursday twice awarded death penalty to Atif Zaman, an accused in the murder case of TV anchor Mureed Abbas and one other, after he was found guilty, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The court also issued perpetual arrest warrants for Adil Zaman, a proclaimed offender (PO) in the case and Atif’s brother.

During the hearing, the prosecution told the court that Abbas and Khizar Hayat had been murdered on July 9, 2019 over a dispute over business dealings.

A case had been registered against both the brothers at Darakhshan police station of Karachi.

The prosecution further said that Adil had been absconding since his bail petition was turned down by the Supreme Court, and that a trial court had declared him PO.

On July 9, 2019, Atif had gunned down Mureed Abbas, 34 and Khizar Hayat, 45, over a monetary dispute in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and then attempted suicide.

Earlier on September 10, 2020, the Supreme Court had revoked the bail granted to Adil Zaman, the co-accused in the case.

A three-judge bench of the SC’s Karachi registry, hearing a plea seeking the cancellation of Adil’s bail, had ordered police to arrest the accused and send him behind bars at once.

The accused managed to flee from the court’s premises after the cancellation of bail.

Reporter: Jawad Abbas