ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday sought comments from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on a bail plea filed by a suspect in the murder case of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq.

The division bench, comprising Justice Noorul Haq N. Qureshi and Justice Athar Minallah, also issued notices to the federal government on the post-arrest bail petition of Moazzam Ali, one of the three suspects in the murder case.

Last year, the FIA arrested Moazzam along with Khalid Shamim and Mohsin Alifor their alleged role in the murder of Dr Farooq.

According to the prosecution, MQM senior leader Mohammad Anwar gave the order to murder Dr Farooq. A JIT constituted to investigate the case suggested that MQM chief Altaf Hussain had perceived Dr Farooq as a threat to the party leadership and wanted him eliminated.

TheJITreportalsonotedthatallthethree suspects were members of All Pakistan Muttahida Student Organisation (APMSO), the student wing of the MQM.

After hearing the preliminary arguments, the IHC division bench directed the investigation ofhcer to appear before the courtalong with the record of the case.

Mansoor Afridi, the counsel for Moazzam, said his client should be released on ball as the case had been registered on the basis of hearsay which had no value in the eyes of the law.

The counsel said the record of the case did not prove the allegation of murder against his client as the FIA lacl
Referring to a judgment of the Sindh HighCourt, the petition said when no direct evidence was available against any suspect he should be set at liberty.

The petition added that the murder of Dr Farooq took placeinLondon andthe conspiracy was allegedly hatched in Karachi, adding both the places were beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court. But the case was registered in Islamabad without any territorial jurisdiction.

It said Moazzam was accused of facilitating the other suspects for murdering Dr Farooq and there was no direct or indirect incriminating material available on record against him. The counsel said Moazzam had never been produced before the trial court after he was sent to jail on a judicial remand on January 28, adding it was a violation of Section 344 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

He said the FIA had already completed its investigation in the case and the accused should now be released on bail till the disposal of the case. Subsequently, the court issued notices to the respondents for May 17.

Two of the suspects, Khalid Shamim and Syed Mohsin Ali, have already recorded their confessional statements before the magistrate, alleging that the MQM leader was killed as he was a `potent threat to the leadership of the MQM.` However, Moazzam has not yet recorded his confessional statement.

On December 5, the FIA registered a case against MQM chief Altaf Hussain and other party leaders for their alleged involvement in the 2010 murder of Dr Farooq.

Dr Farooq was stabbed and bludgeoned to death near his apartment in Green Lane, Edgware, London,in September 2010.

The counter-terrorism wing of the FIA registered the case under different clauses of the ATA. Apart from Altaf Hussain, Mohammad Anwar, Iftikhar Hussain, Moazzam, Khalid, Mohsin and Kashif Kamran have also been nominated in the FIR.