DEATH SENTENCES TO THE TWO INNOCENT MQM WORKERS BY THE ANTI TERRORIST COURT IS A BLATANT MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE AND DENIAL OF FAIR TRIAL – MQM CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE

21 August 1999

The MQM Co-ordination Committee has strongly condemned the decision of the Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) to award death sentences to two MQM workers. The Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) today announced its verdict in the murder case of four US citizens, employees of Union Texas and their Pakistani driver. The ATC awarded death sentence to two MQM workers Ahmed Saeed and Mohammad Saleem, who were falsely implicated. The Police and other law enforcement agencies had arrested these MQM workers for the sole purpose of maligning the image of the MQM nationally and internationally.

Soon after their arrest the Government of Pakistan forcibly extracted confessional statements from these MQM workers and their statements were provided to the American Authorities. At that time a FBI Team along with other American Intelligence Agencies arrived in Karachi, Pakistan to investigate the validity of these charges. This FBI Team interviewed the two accused involved in the Union Texas murder case. The final report of the investigation carried out by the FBI Team and the American Intelligence Agencies clearly indicated that the arrested MQM workers allegedly involved in the Union Texas murder case were innocent. It is clearly understandable that if they would have been involved in this murder then the American Authorities would have asked the Government of Pakistan to hand them over to them so that they could be tried in the United States of America. Furthermore, the reward offered in this case was never given to the Pakistani Authorities on the ground that the information provided by them was not correct.

Despite the publication of this factual report in newspapers, the ATC today awarded death sentences to these innocent MQM workers. Ignoring the findings of the investigation carried out by the FBI and other American Intelligence Agencies, the judgement of the ATC further strengthens the view that these ‘kangaroo courts’ have not been established to provide justice but they have been established for the sole purpose to crush the MQM and malign its image nationally and internationally. Furthermore, these courts have been established for the political victimisation of the political opponents of the Government of Nawaz Sharif and since their establishment these courts have awarded death sentences to more than 42 MQM workers on similar grounds of political victimisation.

The MQM Co-ordination Committee totally rejected the decision of the ATC and termed this a blatant miscarriage of justice and denial of fair trial to the innocent MQM workers.