A judicial magistrate on Friday issued a notice to Gul Plaza market union officials and other accused to ensure their presence during the hearing of an application filed by shop owners seeking to record their statements as witnesses in the Gul Plaza fire case.
Huzaifa, his father Naimatullah, who owned an artificial flower shop; Gul Plaza market union’s President Tanveer Pasta, Vice President Ammar Ismail, Joint Secretary Muhammad Ramzan, and General Secretary Muhammad Ameen have been named accused in a charge sheet filed by the investigating officer.
Five shop owners moved two applications before Judicial Magistrate (South) Aasim Aslam, pleading to invoke Section 302 (murder) of the PPC and Section 7 (punihsment for acts of terrorism) of Anti-Terrorism Act in the case. They also sought to join the case proceedings and record their statements under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The applicants’ lawyer contended that the case was similar to the Baldia factory fire case, warranting inclusion of murder and terrorism charges. However, the defence lawyer and state prosecutor opposed the plea, saying that the two cases were different as a chemical was used in the Baldia factory fire, while the Gul Plaza fire was an accident.
They said the terrorism charge was inserted in the Baldia factory fire case due to an element of ransom, adding that the murder charge could be added when there was an intention to cause the incident. However, the Gul Plaza fire was caused unintentionally by a child with a matchstick. Therefore, they pleaded with the court to dismiss the plea as non-maintainable.
The magistrate issued notices to the market union president and others to ensure their appearance in court on Oct 3, today, as he is expected to record the shop owners’ statements in their presence. However, the magistrate adjourned the hearing on the application regarding the inclusion of charges and the acceptance or rejection of the fresh charge-sheet filed in the case until October 7.
