Karachi court convicts Atif Zaman in the 2019 double murder of TV anchor Mureed Abbas and businessman Khizar Hayat, bringing a years-long legal battle to a close.
Karachi: An Additional District and Sessions Court (South) has sentenced the main accused, Atif Zaman, to two death penalties after convicting him of the 2019 murders of television anchor Mureed Abbas and businessman Khizar Hayat.
The verdict was announced by the special court operating inside the Judicial Complex Jail, concluding one of Karachi’s most closely followed criminal trials after nearly seven years of legal proceedings.
The court also issued permanent arrest warrants for co-accused Adil Zaman, who remains a proclaimed absconder after fleeing during the trial. He had gone into hiding after the Supreme Court rejected his bail application, and was later declared a proclaimed offender by the trial court.
Mureed Abbas and Khizar Hayat were shot dead on July 9, 2019, in Karachi’s Darakhshan area. Police registered a murder case against Atif Zaman and his brother, Adil Zaman, following the incident.
According to the prosecution, the killings stemmed from a financial dispute linked to business dealings between the parties. After examining the evidence presented during the lengthy trial, the court found Atif Zaman guilty of murdering both victims and handed down two separate death sentences.
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