KARACHI, Sindh: A Karachi court sentenced Atif Zaman to death twice in the Mureed Abbas murder case.
Thursday, seven years after TV anchor Mureed Abbas and Khizar Hayat were killed. The Additional District and Sessions Court convicted Zaman over the July 9, 2019, murders.
The prosecution said the victims were killed over a business dispute involving Atif Zaman and his brother, Adil Zaman.
The case was registered at Darakhshan Police Station after Abbas and Hayat were shot dead in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority.
Abbas was a known television anchor, while Hayat was linked to the same business dispute. According to the prosecution, Atif Zaman lured the victims during the dispute and then killed them.
Police later arrested him after he survived a suicide attempt following the shootings. The court also issued permanent arrest warrants for Adil Zaman.
Prosecutors said Adil absconded after the Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected his bail application. The trial court had already declared him a proclaimed offender.
The Mureed Abbas murder case drew wide media attention because of Abbas’s public profile and the financial dispute behind the killings.
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Reports at the time linked the case to alleged investment dealings involving the Zaman brothers. The verdict came exactly seven years after the murders.
The killings took place on July 9, 2019, while the court announced the sentence on July 9, 2026. Atif Zaman can still challenge the trial court verdict before the Sindh High Court.
In Pakistan, a death sentence requires confirmation by the relevant high court before execution can proceed.
The case may also move through further appeals if higher courts uphold the conviction.
For now, Adil Zaman remains wanted in the same case, while Atif Zaman faces two death sentences for the murders of Abbas and Hayat.
