KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday rejected the police’s request for physical remand of Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM-H) Chairman Afaq Ahmed and instead sent him to jail on judicial remand.
During the hearing, the ATC judge expressed displeasure over the inclusion of terrorism charges in the case, questioning the justification for invoking such serious allegations.
“Politicians often gain more popularity when they go to jail,” the judge remarked. “One individual is already in prison and remains uncontrollable, now another is being sent, and he refuses to go out,” the judge added, hinting at the political implications of the case.
The court also questioned the legal grounds for adding terrorism charges. “Such sections of the law require substantial evidence. If I go through the entire FIR, I might discharge the case immediately,” the judge observed.
Afaq Ahmed was arrested by the police on Tuesday in connection with two arson incidents in Awami Colony and Landhi, where unidentified individuals set cargo trucks on fire.
It is worth noting that on the same day, unidentified miscreants torched three cargo trucks and a water tanker in different areas of Karachi, including Awami Colony, Landhi, Sharifabad, and Surjani Town.
Afaq Ahmed was presented before the ATC for physical remand in both cases, but the court denied the police’s request and ordered his judicial remand instead.
