RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench has issued a contempt notice to the Station House Officer in South Cantonment in Lahore for failing to show up for a court case against the son of a former minister, who is facing murder charges.

On Tuesday, as the bench was hearing a government appeal against acquittal of the minister’s son, Mustafa Kanju, it issued notices to all the accused.

The bench had already admitted this appeal for regular hearing.

Anti-Terrorism Court on October 27 cleared the minister’s son of the charge after 14 eye-witnesses including complainant Suhail Afzal, an uncle of Zain Rauf, sidestepping their preliminary statements refused to identify the minister’s son.

The Punjab government has challenged the acquittal and so does the Punjab prosecutor general who says it was done in haste, claiming the trial court acquitted the accused only because prosecution witnesses backed off from their statements.