Court Approves Police Remand of Suspect in Journalist Shooting Case

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An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi on March 14 remanded Armaghan Qureshi in police custody for four days in connection with an armed attack on journalist Nadeem Ahmed in November 2024. Qureshi is the prime suspect in a high-profile murder case — the Mustafa Amir murder case.

The incident occurred within the jurisdiction of Karachi’s Bahadurabad police station. According to the FIR, Nadeem Ahmed, a senior reporter at 92 News channel, was shot and wounded following a road dispute on November 19, 2024.

According to Dawn, the FIR states that Ahmed was on his way to the office on a motorcycle. When he reached KDA Scheme 1 close to his office, a double-cabin vehicle on the road “suddenly” applied brakes. This resulted in a quarrel between the complainant and the car driver, who was later identified as Armaghan. During the altercation, the suspect allegedly pulled out a firearm and opened fire resulting in Ahmed being injured, the report added. When office staff heard the gunshots, the suspect fired additional shots to “create panic and terror in the public.” He fled the scene.

On March 14, Investigation Officer (IO) Amir Altaf presented Armaghan before the ATC’s administrative judge, requesting his physical remand for further investigation including regarding the crime weapon and “corroborative evidence.” The IO informed the court that the suspect was identified through social media posts and later recognized by the complainant at the police station. He argued that custodial interrogation was necessary to recover the crime weapon, vehicle, and other evidence.

The court noted in its order that the suspect was not initially named in the FIR but was later identified by the complainant through social media posts and had gone to the police. Based on this identification, police arrested Armaghan.

Approving the police request for a four-day remand and urged the IO to “conduct the investigation strictly in accordance with the law.” The court ordered the IO to submit a progress report on March 18.

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