A Karachi court has sentenced Atif Zaman, the main accused, to death for killing TV anchorperson Mureed Abbas and his friend Khizer Hayat. The verdict came from an Additional District and Sessions Court, nearly seven years after the killings took place.
Abbas and Hayat were shot dead in the Bukhari Commercial area of DHA Phase VI back on July 9, 2019, following a dispute over money. The court also ordered permanent arrest warrants for Atif’s brother, Adil Zaman, who is still absconding. Prosecutors said Adil ran away after the Supreme Court turned down his bail request, and the trial court had already declared him a proclaimed offender.
Lawyer Jibran Nasir, representing Abbas’s family, shared the news online, saying Atif was found guilty on both counts of murder and also received a seven-year sentence for illegal possession of the weapon used in the killings.
According to case details, Abbas had gone to Atif’s office to collect a debt of five million rupees after Atif called and asked him to come. His wife, Sidra, later learned that Atif had opened fire on her husband, leaving him critically injured, and had also shot Hayat outside the building. Abbas could not survive his injuries and passed away at the hospital.
CCTV footage from the scene showed Atif entering the building with his brother Adil, who was seen carrying a weapon. Police said both brothers fled before officers arrived at the crime scene
