The widely aired footage of the killing showed a clean-shaven Shah, wearing black trousers and a navy shirt, pleading for his life before he was shot twice. — Photo by AFP

KARACHI: Afsar Khan, one of the men convicted in the killing of Sarfraz Shah, challenged the verdict of the anti-terrorism court that sentenced him to life imprisonment, DawnNews reported.

Mr Khan’s counsel, Aamir Warraich, filed an application in the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the verdict on Tuesday.

On August 12, the anti-terrorism court sentenced a Rangers constable to death and five other personnel and a civilian to life imprisonment for shooting Mr Shah, a 22-year-old unarmed youth, to death in a public park.

Mr Shah, 22, was shot twice and then allegedly left to die in the park in Clifton on June 8.

Constable Shahid Zafar was given death sentence and sub-inspector Bahaur Rehman, lance naik Liaquat Ali, constables Mohammad Tariq, Manthar Ali and Afzal Khan and civilian Afsar Khan were ordered jailed for life.

Pakistani policemen escort arrested hand-cuffed paramilitary soldiers and a civilian to an anti-terrorism court in Karachi on June 29, 2011. – AFP

KARACHI: A Pakistani court Friday found a paramilitary soldier guilty of murder and sentenced him to death for killing an unarmed man at point blank range in an incident caught on camera in a public park.

It marked the first time that a civilian court in Pakistan has sentenced to death a serving member of the military.

Although the Rangers paramilitary technically comes under the supervision of the interior ministry, it is considered part of the powerful armed forces, which has ruled the country for more than half its existence.

The June 8 killing of Sarfaraz Shah, 22, was filmed by a cameraman and broadcast on television, sparking a public backlash over the brutality of trained officers.

Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso read out the verdict before an anti-terrorism court in Karachi, finding Shahid Zafar guilty of pulling the trigger, and sentenced him to death and a fine of 200,000 rupees ($2,300).

“The crime of killing Sarfraz Shah has been proved against you and I announce the death sentence and also impose a fine of 200,000 rupees,” said Khoso, addressing Zafar.

He handed life terms to five other paramilitary soldiers and a civilian who had accused Shah of robbery and dragged him over to them.

The judge ordered each to pay 100,000 rupees to the victim’s family.

The verdict concludes a relatively swift trial which got underway after the seven defendants were formally charged with murder and terrorism on June 29, just weeks after the killing.

So extreme was the public and media reaction to the killing that the government also took the rare step of removing the provincial chiefs of police and Rangers in Karachi.

The widely-aired footage of the killing showed a clean-shaven and unarmed Shah, wearing black trousers and a navy shirt, pleading for his life before he is shot twice.

He then begs for help while the soldiers appear to do nothing but watch him lapse gradually into unconsciousness.

Despite no evidence in the video that Shah was armed, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, whose ministry is responsible for the Rangers, had claimed that the victim had been carrying an unlicensed weapon.

This television frame grab taken from a news channel on June 10, 2011 shows paramilitary soldiers shooting Sarfraz Shah in Karachi on June 8, 2011. — Photo by AFP

KARACHI, Aug 4: An anti-terrorism court on Thursday recorded statements of the accused in the Sarfraz Shah murder case.

Six personnel of the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh and a civilian accused denied the charges levelled against them and deposed that they were falsely implicated in the case.

In their statements, the accused denied that they had committed any act of terrorism and said that they had not watched any video of the incident.

Following completion of their statements, accused Shahid Zafar named Colonel Salman of the Pakistan Rangers, the chief executive officer of a private TV channel and a driver of the Chhipa welfare as defence witnesses.

Surprisingly, the civilian accused, Afsar Khan, told the court that he would examine in his defence three prosecution witnesses — investigation officer DIG Sultan Khawaja, DSP Altaf Hussain and Sub-Inspector Nasrullah — who have already been examined by the prosecution.

Accused Mohammad Tariq and Manthar Ali gave the name of Alam Zab as a defence witness.

Mr Zab was said to have alleged that Sarfraz sought to rob him.

Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of ATC-I adjourned the hearing till Friday and directed the accused to produce the defence witnesses.

Meanwhile, the court also dismissed two applications of the defence side seeking summoning and examination of two prosecution witnesses.

One of the defence counsel had moved two applications under Section 510 (report of chemical examiner, serologist, etc) of the criminal procedure code and requested the court to summon the chemical examiner and the ballistic expert and examine them. The court pronounced the order after hearing both sides.

Sarfraz Shah was shot at and then left to die inside the park in Clifton on June 8.

Policemen escort arrested hand-cuffed paramilitary soldiers to an anti-terrorism court in Karachi.—AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court directed an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi on Wednesday to expedite the trial involving the cold-blooded killing of a young man by Rangers personnel at a park on June 9.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Pervez and Justice Amir Hani Muslim that had taken notice of the killing of Sarfaraz Shah also asked the ATC to conduct the trial in a transparent manner and submit a compliance report to the apex court in two weeks.

Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Mazhar Chaudhry sought one month`s time for submission of the report, saying the special court had yet to complete the trial. The court rejected the request and said that giving further time would amount to injustice.

On June 10, a larger bench of the apex court had set a three-day deadline for the removal of Sindh Rangers` Director General Maj-Gen Ejaz Chaudhry and Inspector General of Sindh Police Fayyaz Leghari with an observation that such incidents increased hatred against security forces.

The chief justice had deplored that the appointment of incompetent officials led to poor administration. The bench had ordered the Accountant General of Pakistan to withhold salary of the two officials if the court orders were not implemented.

The government complied with the court orders and removed the Rangers DG and Sindh IG.

This television frame grab taken from a news channel on June 10, 2011 shows paramilitary soldiers shooting Sarfraz Shah in Karachi on June 8, 2011. — Photo by AFP

KARACHI, Aug 3: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday reserved its order on two applications of the defence side seeking to summon and examine two prosecution witnesses in the Sarfraz Shah murder case.

The case was fixed for statements of the accused, but when it came up for hearing, the court took up two pending applications of the defence.

After hearing arguments from both sides, judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of ATC-I, who is conducting the trial, reserved the order on both pleas for pronouncement on Thursday.

One of the defence counsel, Shaukat Hayat, had moved two applications under Section 510 (report of chemical examiner, serologist etc.) of the criminal procedure code on July 27 and requested the court to summon the chemical examiner and ballistic expert and examine them.He argued that the prosecution had not examined those witnesses and their reports were submitted through the investigation officer which created some ambiguity about the authenticity of the reports.

However, special public prosecutor Mohammad Khan Buriro opposed the pleas and argued that the chemical examiner prepared the report after analysing the blood-stained clothes and bricks and the ballistic expert had prepared the FSL report about the weapons used in the crime, and both reports had been placed before the court by the IO.

Therefore, he contended, their statements were not required and the prosecution had left them out to save time.

He argued that the defence counsel had no right to move an application to call the prosecution witnesses. In fact, he added, it was the authority of the court to summon and examine those witnesses if it considered necessary in the interest of justice.

The prosecutor concluded that the defence lawyer had moved the applications to delay the trial, and prayed the court to dismiss them.

The hearing was put off till Thursday when the court would record statements of the accused and pronounce its order on the applications.

Bahaur Rehman, Liaquat Ali, Mohammad Tariq, Manthar Ali, Shahid Zafar and Afzal Khan of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, and a private contractor, Afsar Khan, have been charged with the murder of Sarfraz Shah, who was shot at and then left to die inside a park in Clifton on June 8.

They were booked under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 36 (effect caused partly by act and partly by omission) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The widely aired footage of the killing showed a clean-shaven Shah, wearing black trousers and a navy shirt, pleading for his life before he was shot twice. — Photo by AFP

KARACHI, July 16: An eyewitness rightly picked out six detained personnel of the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, and a civilian accused before an anti-terrorism court on Saturday and assigned their roles in the Sarfraz Shah murder case. Zahid Essa, who witnessed the murder, deposed that he had been hosting a talk show on a private TV channel since 2009 and on June 8 he along with his team was present in the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park to host the show which was scheduled to be recorded there.

Pointing at one of the accused, private park contractor Afsar Khan, he said that he saw him capturing a young man and hauling him towards the food court area in the park, adding that he asked the cameraman to film the scene.

He further testified that the accused handed over the youth to Rangers personnel who surrounded the victim and a Rangers man shot Sarfraz twice.

He identified Shahid Zafar as the accused man who had fired at the youth and also picked out the remaining Rangers personnel and said that they were present around the victim and asked Shahid to open fire.

However he hosted the talk show and after that he returned to his studios and aired the footage of the tragic incident, he concluded.

During the cross-examination, the defence lawyers asked him whether the public remained in the park after the incident. He replied in the negative.

Responding to another question, he said an ambulance arrived there around 30 minutes after the incident.

The lawyers also asked the witness as to why he had not rescued or took the deceased to hospital.

The witness replied as to how could he save or shift the youth when Rangers men had gathered around him with guns in their hands.

The judge, Bashir Ahmed Khoso adjourned the hearing till Monday for evidence of further witnesses.

The investigation officer placed 46 witnesses in the charge-sheet while the prosecution has so far examined around 15 witnesses in the case.

Meanwhile, the court allowed an application of a defence lawyer moved under Section 540 (powers to summon material witness or examine person present) of the criminal procedure code about the recalling of three prosecution witnesses for the purpose of cross-examination and deferred the order on another plea of the defence side regarding the inspection of the scene of crime till Monday.

Another defence lawyer on Saturday also filed an application for recalling of three witnesses for cross-examination and the court directed the special public prosecutor to argue on the plea on Monday.

Bahaur Rehman, Liaquat Ali, Mohammad Tariq, Manthar Ali, Shahid Zafar and Afzal Khan of the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, and a private park contractor, Afsar Khan, have been charged with the murder of Sarfraz Shah who was shot at and then left to die inside the park in Clifton on June 8.

They were booked under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 36 (effect caused partly by act and partly by omission) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

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Video grab from footage of an unarmed Sarfaraz Shah being shot dead by Rangers personnel in Karachi. - File Photo

KARACHI, June 30: The trial of six personnel of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, and a civilian, in the cold-blooded murder case of an unarmed young man, was challenged on Thursday under the anti-terrorism act.

The case was fixed for the evidence of prosecution witnesses, but when it came up for hearing before the judge of the anti-terrorism court-I, Bashir Ahmed Khoso, the counsel for the accused filed applications under Section 23 (power to transfer cases to regular courts) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and requested the court to transfer the case to regular court.

They contented that the facts and circumstances disclosed in the FIR and a further statement of the complainant showed that it was not an act of terrorism, thus this court had no jurisdiction to try the case.

The defence lawyers further argued that the accused were the members of the civil armed forces (Pakistan Rangers) and they were on their lawful duty and there was no object to create terror, fear and insecurity.

They maintained that under the provision of Section 5 (3) of the ATA members of the armed forces performing their lawful duties and functions during their deployment were fully protected against prosecution instituted in any criminal act.

Only the cases of terrorists could be tried under the ATA, but the six accused in the present case were Rangers personnel and one was a law-abiding citizen, they maintained.

The defence lawyers alleged that the deceased had an illicit weapon and he attempted to rob Alam Zeb and his friend, and added that warning was given to the victim to remain at a distance, but he twice tried to snatch the weapon from Rangers man Shahid Zafar.

They argued that under the provision contained in Section 6, terrorism could not be determined without determination of the nature, gravity and heinousness of the alleged offence from contents of the FIR and the circumstance of the case.

The action must be resulting in striking terror or creating fear, panic, sensation, helplessness and a sense of insecurity in the people in a particular area, which squarely brought the action within the ambit of the ATA, but this action was not attracted in the present case, the counsel for the accused added.

They further contended that this court had no jurisdiction to try the present case since, they said, it did not fall within the ambit of the ATA and prayed to the court to transfer it to any court of competent jurisdiction (sessions court) for onward proceedings.

The court issued a notice to the special public prosecutor on the applications of the accused for Friday.

Sub-Inspector Bahaur Rehman, Lance Naik Liaquat Ali, constables Mohammad Tariq, Manthar Ali, Shahid Zafar and Afzal Khan have been charged with capturing Sarfraz Shah with the help of a private contractor, Afsar Khan. The victim was shot at by Shahid Zafar and then left to die inside the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park within the remit of the Boat Basin police station on June 8.

A case (FIR 227/11) was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 36 (effect caused partly by act and partly by omission) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 on the complaint of the deceased`s brother.

Pakistani policemen escort arrested hand-cuffed paramilitary soldiers and a civilian to an anti-terrorism court in Karachi on June 29, 2011. – AFP

KARACHI:  A Pakistani court on Wednesday indicted six paramilitary soldiers and a civilian on murder and terrorism charges after an unarmed man was shot dead on camera in a public park, lawyers said.

If convicted, the seven accused could be sentenced to death.

Members of Pakistan’s Rangers paramilitary force were caught on film killing Sarfaraz Shah, 22, after a civilian dragged him over to the troops, accusing him of robbery in Karachi on June 8.

The daylight murder was filmed by a cameraman and broadcast round the clock on television, shocking the country with the apparent brutality of trained officers.

“The court has formally framed charges of murder and terrorism against all the accused,” public prosecutor Mohammad Khan Buriro told reporters.

The accused pleaded not guilty and will contest the charges after appearing before judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso on Wednesday, lawyers said.

Buriro said the trial would begin on Thursday and that a total of 46 witnesses would be called to the stand.

“They are innocent and will contest the charges,” said M R Sayed, one of the lawyers for the defence.

“We have asked the court to provide the investigation report compiled by the government joint investigation team,” he added.

The formal indictment had been repeatedly delayed to allow the accused time to hire lawyers.

Facing down a media tirade, the government has already taken the rare step of removing the provincial chiefs of police and Rangers in Karachi.

The widely aired footage of the killing showed a clean-shaven and unarmed Shah, wearing black trousers and a navy shirt, pleading for his life before he was shot twice.

He then begged for help while the soldiers appeared to do nothing but watch him fall slowly and lapse into unconsciousness.

Despite no evidence in the video that Shah had a weapon, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, whose ministry is responsible for the Rangers, claimed last week that the victim had been carrying an unlicensed weapon.

The killings last month by security forces of five unarmed Chechens, one of them a pregnant woman, in the city of Quetta are also under investigation.

Answerable to the interior ministry, more than 10,000 paramilitary troops patrol Karachi and its surroundings to combat routine ethnic, political and extremist violence in the city of 16 million.

Human rights activists condemned Shah’s killing and complain that the Rangers, established for combat and border duty, are neither equipped nor trained for civilian areas.