The accused Armaghan. photo: express
KARACHI:
A special Anti-Terrorism Court on Thursday indicted Armaghan and Shiraz in the Mustafa Amir murder case. Both accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During a hearing at the Karachi Central Jail Anti-Terrorism Complex, the accused were presented before Special Court Number 15, where they were formally charged. Upon their denial of the charges, the court directed that notices be issued to the witnesses and scheduled their appearance for March 12.
According to the prosecution, Mustafa was murdered last year, and his body was set on fire in Balochistan. Armaghan and Shiraz, who were close friends of the victim, are the prime suspects.
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In addition to the murder charges, Armaghan faces allegations of opening fire on a police team during his attempted arrest, as well as charges related to drug peddling, money laundering, and operating an illegal call centre. Last month, a Karachi court granted him bail in a separate trial under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) concerning the alleged call centre.
Earlier this week, the special ATCÂ rejected a request to form a medical board for the psychiatric evaluation of Armaghan. The defence counsel had sought the evaluation, potentially to support an insanity defence.
Armaghan told the court that he was mentally sound and accused his lawyer of attempting to declare him insane. “I did not hire this lawyer, nor did I give him any authority. I am perfectly fine. They are unnecessarily trying to declare me insane,” he said. The court subsequently rejected the petition.
The court noted that the charges against Armaghan could carry the death penalty and emphasised that he must have legal representation. The judge informed him that if he did not wish to retain his current lawyer, the court could appoint a state counsel. However, Armaghan declined the offer of a government-appointed lawyer as well.
