KARACHI: A sessions court reserved on Wednesday its order on an application seeking trial of a former chairman of Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) in the murder case of a former chief of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) under the antiterrorism law.

Former FCS chief Dr Nisar Morai has been charged with alleged involvement in the murder of former PSM chairman Sajjad Hussain, who was gunned down in Defence Housing Authority in 1998.

Special public prosecutorSajid Mehboob Shaikh moved an application and asked the court to send the case to an antiterrorism court since, he argued, the accused was arrested and detained under Section EEEE of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, adding that a joint investigation team also grilled him during preventive detention.

He also contended that the police have not filed a supplementary charge sheet against the accused with mala fide intentions.

Defence lawyer Khawaja Naveed opposed the plea and argued the case did not come within the ambit of ATA and the trial of other accused was also conducted by the sessions court.After hearing both sides, an additional district and sessions judge reserved the order on the application till Nov 13.

The Rangers had picked up former FCS chief in March last year, detained him under three-month preventive detention and handed him over to police as he was named asone ofthe abscondersinthepresent case. Later, he was released on bail.

According to the prosecution, former PSM chief was shot dead on Sept 11, 1998 in DHA while he was on his way home.

The charge sheet said that Salimuddin alias Sallu and Sohail Ahmed alias Panga were arrested in Sept 1999 and during the inter-rogation, the two suspects disclosed that Dr Zulfikar Mirza had allegedly telephoned them and asked them to kill the former PSM chief since he was going to make a statement against PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in a corruption case.

Mr Zardari, Dr Mirza, Mohammed Khan Chachar, Salimuddin and Sohail were the co-accused in the case.

However, Mr Zardari was acquitted in 2003 and Dr Mirza was exonerated in 2007 while the trial court had convicted Chachar, though he was acquitted by the high court. Salimuddin and Sohail Ahmed were declared proclaimed offenders in the case.