An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday rejected the bail plea of Azam Swati one of the accused persons in the Perween Rahman murder case. Rahman, who was the Director of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) was gunned down by four men in a targeted attack near the Banaras fly-over in Orangi Town in March 2013. She was a vocal activist working against the land and water mafia in the city.
During the hearing, prosecution lawyer Advocate Salahuddin Panhwar argued that setting the accused free would put the lives of witnesses in danger. The prosecution contended that Azam was the son of Raheem Swati - the prime accused in the murder case. Panhwar further said the accused was likely to flee if granted bail.
Announcing the earlier reserved verdict on Azam's bail plea, the court rejected the petition. The ATC has also reserved its verdict on Raheem's bail petition. Later, Panhwar submitted a plea to provide security to him and the case's witnesses.
In the petition, Panhwar said the Supreme Court had ordered the Sindh inspector general of police to provide him with security four months ago, however, those orders are yet to be implemented. The petition further stated that witnesses of the case were also not provided security.
The prosecutor further said that he was in charge of not only the Perween Rahman murder case but also other high profile cases such as the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder and Baldia factory fire. The court has declared absconders, Noor Muhammad and Ahsanuddin, who are also accused of Rahman's murder.
The hearing was then adjourned till August 10. Rahman was a vocal activist working to protect low-income communities from the land and water mafia. A day after her killing, police claimed to have killed the alleged suspect, Qari Bilal, in an encounter.
Later, in 2014, the Supreme Court ordered a fresh probe after it was alleged that police mishandled the investigation. In 2016, the Sindh Police claimed to have arrested prime suspect in the case, Swati. The police have since claimed to have arrested several more suspects in the case. Rahman's family and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan had petitioned the apex court to help ascertain the real motive of the killing and police negligence.
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