Prime accused awarded death sentence in anchorperson Mureed Abbas murder case

• Convict orderd to pay compensation to victims’ families.
• Court issues perpetual arrest warrants for Adil Zaman.
• Atif Zaman receives seven years in weapons case.

KARACHI: An additional district and sessions court on Thursday sentenced prime accused Atif Zaman to death on two counts in connection with the 2019 murder of anchorperson Mureed Abbas and his friend.

Police booked and arrested Atif Zaman and his brother, Adil Zaman, in connection with the killing of anchor Mureed Abbas and his friend Khizer Hayat in Karachi’s Khayaban-e-Bukhari area on July 9, 2019.

The court also ordered the convict to pay Rs500,000 each to the legal heirs of both victims as compensation.

The sessions court also issued perpetual arrest warrants for co-accused Adil Zaman, noting that the trial court had already declared him a proclaimed offender.

In addition, the court sentenced Atif Zaman to seven years’ imprisonment and imposed a Rs50,000 fine in a separate case relating to possession of illegal weapons.

The case was transferred from an anti-terrorism court to a sessions court in October 2019 after the ATC ruled that the offence did not fall under its jurisdiction.