British-Pakistani Fahad Malik’s murder ‘an act of terrorism’: UK MP Naz Shah
May 07, 2018
LONDON: UK Home Affairs Select Committee member and Member Parliament Naz Shah called the murder of British Pakistani Barrister Fahad Malik “an act of terrorism”.
The barrister – who studied law at the Lincoln's Inn– was assassinated on the night of August 14, 2016, in Islamabad by the accused Noman Khokhar, Raja Arshad, and Hashim Khan. Malik was leaving Shalimar police station after duty, acting for a client, when his car was stopped and he was showered with bullets.
Speaking to Geo News for Naya Pakistan show on Monday, the Labour MP said that she had raised this issue in the British parliament to make it a test case for the Pakistani authorities so that appropriate action is taken and appropriate anti-terrorism legislation is used to bring to justice the killers of British Pakistani lawyer who had decided to practice in Islamabad to payback to his country of origin but was brutally assassinated.
Answering questions, Naz Shah MP said the fact that Fahad Malik was killed openly in Islamabad cannot be dealt with anything but an act of open terrorism which raised international concern.
“If a citizen is killed openly in broad daylight in the capital then that’s terrorism and nothing else. Unfortunately, until now that has not been declared terrorism. There cannot be any comfort when people can be terrorized openly and allowed to get away with it,” said the Labour MP.
She said that terrorism is defined as an act that gets to terrorize, kill and maim people.
“That’s the very definition of terrorism. Fahad Malik was killed on the streets of Pakistan’s capital and that was terrorism. We will obviously ask questions about that.”
Naz Shah mentioned the hate-speech case of the MQM founder Altaf Hussain who is currently being investigated by Scotland Yard over several speeches he made in which he is alleged to have incited violence.
Naz Shah has raised Hussain’s issue repeatedly with the British Home Secretary and chief of Scotland Yard. When Altaf Hussain incites violence from London and is defined as terrorism, then the case of Fahad Malik is also terrorism, said the Bradford West MP.
Islamabad High Court judges Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani have reserved judgment pertaining to terrorism clauses in Barrister Fahad Malik’s murder case on the appeal filed by Jawad Sohrab, brother of slain Barrister Fahad Malik.
On December 21, 2016, ATC-I Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi accepted a plea from the accused of removing terrorism clauses from the FIR.
In February last year, while hearing an appeal against the order of the ATC Judge, division bench IHC, comprising of Justice Noorulhaq N Qureshi and Justice Aamer Farooq, suspended the ATC order, noting that it “requires consideration due to infirmities”.
Naz Shah MP had raised Fahad Malik’s case with the former Home Secretary Amber Rudd last month and Rudd had assured that she will raise the issue with her counterpart Interior Minister of Pakistan Ahsan Iqbal.
