Zain murder case Verdict on admissibility of govt`s plea reserved

     

| 12/16/2015 12:00:00 AM LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Tuesday reserved verdict on maintainability of Punjab government`s appeal against acquittal of former state minister Siddique Kanju`s son Mustafa Kanju in Zain murder case.

Punjab Prosecutor General Ehtesham Qadir concluded his arguments on the admissibility of the appeal before the bench headed by Justice Shahid Hameed Dar.

He reiterated that the trial court decided acquittal plea of the respondent (Kanju) in haste without examining facts of the case.

He said the trial court did not record statements of police witnesses.

Mr Shah said the trial court allowed acquittal application of the suspect exclusively on the basis of retracted witnesses of the prosecution. He asked the bench to issue admit notices on the appeal and start regular hearing of the case.

The bench reserved the decision and directed the prosecutor to provide it list of the witnesses who had not testified before the trial court.

An anti-terrorism court had on Oct 27 acquitted Mustafa Kanju and his guards of the charges of killing Zain and injuring Hasnain.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali had taken suo motu notice of the acquittal order and directed the prosecution to file an appeal against the acquittal.

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