After 17 years, an antiterrorism court has sentenced two men, including a retired major, to life in prison for abducting a businessman and extorting a total of Rs16 million in ransom.The ATC-XVI judge found retired major Nawazish Akbar and civilian Naveed Khan — who appeared on bail — guilty of abducting Sher Bahadur when he was returning from the district Malir court in 2006 and received Rs7m in cash and jewellery worth Rs9m on in ransom.The court also sentenced them to three years for wrongful confinement, seven years for robbing the victim’s car, and sentenced them additional life imprisonment under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. The court also directed the forfeiture of the convicts’ property. ATC orders forfeiture of convicts’ property
According to state prosecutor Muhammad Raza, the complaint was lodged against the abductors, one and a half years after the incident, following the directions of the session court.
In the FIR, the complainant stated that the accused, Nawazish, was a five per cent business partner of his brother Sher Bahadur, who owned a construction company. After a business dispute, both parties reached a compromise, and Nawazish signed a written agreement with an assurance to settle the outstanding amount.
However, instead of paying the amount, Nawazish allegedly threatened his brother with dire consequences. On June 6, 2006, when the complainant and his brother (abductee) were returning from Malir Court in their car, the accused, Nawazish, along with his accomplices Haji Zaman, Amir Khan, Fareed Ahmed, Naveed, and Nadeem, intercepted their vehicle. They abducted his brother, took him to an unknown location, and informed the complainant that his brother would be released after resolving the dispute.
