Two Iranians gunned down in Karachi
21-02-1998
KARACHI: Two Iranian nationals were gunned down by at least six armed assailants, riding a
motorbike and a yellow cab, near Clifton Bridge on Saturday evening.
According to eyewitnesses, Engineer Murtaza Adib Zadey, 48, and Foreman, Ali Muhammad
Habibizadey, 36, of an Iranian construction and engineering firm -- Machine Sazi Arak-Iran -- were
returning after buying some goods from a shop located near the under-construction Clifton flyover
bridge. The six armed assailants -- two of them on a motorbike and others in a yellow cab -- reached
the lower part of the bridge. One of the assailants got off his bike and asked the Iranian employees to
stop.
The assailant, who was wearing a coat, took out his TT pistol and fired at Murtaza and Ali Muhammad
from a close range, said a teenaged eyewitness. Both of them were seriously injured. Two other gunmen
also reached the scene and resorted to aerial firing. Later, all the accused fled, he added.
The injured were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) by other employees of the
company, but were declared dead on arrival. The doctors and the medico-legal officers immediately
informed the police about the incident.
On receiving information, Iranian Consul General Muhammad Hassan Farzandeh, SSP South Mir
Ghulam Haider Khan Jamali, and other senior administration officials, including Commissioner Karachi
Mir Hussain Ali and the deputy commissioner, rushed to the spot and the hospital.
On reaching the JPMC, Consul General Hassan Farzandeh told newsmen: "It is an incident of terrorism.
We want immediate arrest of the culprits. It is Pakistan's duty to protect all foreign nationals living in the
country. These people (terrorists) are playing with the prosperity of the country. Such incidents will
scare foreign companies."
Farzandeh said that it appeared the killing took place in order to mark the anniversary of the attack on
the Iranian Cultural Centre in Multan, which alsotook place on February 20, 1998, in which seven
people were killed. Commissioner Karachi Mir Hussain Ali said it was too early to say who was behind
the incident. "We will look into every angle and all aspects of the incident," he added.
Saturday's killing brought the number of Iranian nationals killed in the country to nine within six months.
Police officials termed the attack as 'targeted killing and an act of terrorism'. They said that it was too
early to say whether there was sectarian motive behind the killing, but an Iranian official called on
Pakistan to protect his countrymen.
Official sources said that the bodies of the two slain Iranians would be flown home on Sunday. Sources
at the JPMC said that six bullets were recovered from the body of one victim, while three bullets from
the other. The SSP South told The News: "We will look into the matter but the case is still not
registered. Four teams have been constituted by the IG Sindh Police under my supervision."
KARACHI: Retrial of Iranians murder case begins
KARACHI, April 23: The retrial of two Iranian engineers' murder case commenced, on Monday, before Judge Abdul Hamid Abro of the anti-terrorism court no 2, who put off the hearing of the case till the 25th.
The two Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan workers, being retried, were condemned to death on Oct 3, 1998, by another ATC headed by Hakim Ali Abbasi, whose services were later terminated by the Sindh High Court.
The accused persons, Khalid Ali and Rashid Hussain, had challenged the ATC verdict before the SHC, which set aside the conviction and remanded back the case for retrial from the stage of the statement of the accused, under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The judge examined both the accused who denied their involvement and deposed that they were implicated in the case by the police.
Engineers Murtaza Adeeb Zadey and Muhammed Habib Zadey were shot dead on Feb 21, 1998, near the Clifton flyover, while supervizing its construction work.
According to the police, the two accused were arrested from near the helipad in Clifton on March 17, 1998.
While being examined by the court under Section 342, Cr.P.C, both the accused disputed their time and place of arrest.
Accused Khalid, represented by Shahab Sarki, deposed that on March 8, 1998, he was at his medical store in Shah Faisal Colony when five men in plain clothes arrived in a yellow cab. He said the men in civvies took him to the Shah Faisal police station where he was maltreated by the police.
The accused said that the same day he was handed over to the Mehmoodabad SHO, who was present at the Shah Faisal police station. He deposed that on March 14, 1998 the Mehmoodabad SHO was transferred to the Clifton police station, where he was also shifted.
Accused Rashid Hussain, represented by Khawaja Naveed Ahmed, stated that he was picked up by the police on March 8, 1998. He said he was an apprentice with the National Refinery Limited and was attending to his training on that day.
He said that a police party, comprising sub-inspectors Ijaz and Amir Altaf, intercepted him around 2:30pm as he came out of a mosque after Jumma prayers. The cops, he said, inquired his name and address and they took him away in a car to the Mehmoodabad police station.
The accused deposed that the police asked him about the Sipah-i-Sahaba workers and also showed him some sketches and photos of people for identification. He was severely maltreated when he refused to identify them, he added.
Later, he said, accused Khalid was brought to him who showed him his hands and feet and told him that the police would also torture him if he did not do what they wanted.
He said on March 17, 1998, he along with accused Khalid was handed over to the Frere police, where SHO Mazhar Hussain told them to make a tutored statement before a magistrate.
The accused said that he had complained to the magistrate that the police were maltreating him and not allowing his family members to meet him.
He said that after recording the statement before the magistrate, he was brought back to the police station where the police obtained his signatures on certain documents and prepared a video of his confessional statement.
While being cross-examined by the public prosecutor, Mazhar Qayyum, both the accused denied any affiliation with the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan.