Pakistan Sindh High Court Overturns Life Sentence of MQM-linked Suspect in 27-Year-Old Rangers Attack Case

Karachi:
The Sindh High Court has overturned the life imprisonment sentence of Obaid K-2, a long-time member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), in a 27-year-old case involving a deadly attack on Rangers personnel in Karachi’s Liaquatabad area.

A two-member bench heard the appeal filed by Obaid K-2 against his conviction by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in 2024, which had sentenced him to life imprisonment for his alleged role in the 1998 assault on Rangers officers.

During the hearing, the defense argued that the case had already undergone two previous trials, including one before a military court, and that all other accused arrested from the MQM’s Nine-Zero headquarters had since been released. The defense further noted that Obaid K-2 was arrested in 2015, but was formally linked to this case only in 2021, decades after the original incident.

According to the prosecution, the 1998 attack occurred when Rangers personnel were delivering food to a security post and were ambushed by armed assailants. The firing resulted in the death of soldier Dildar Hussain and injuries to Havildar Mumtaz Ali.

The prosecution maintained that the defendant had confessed to the crime and that the ATC’s sentencing was lawful. However, after reviewing the evidence and hearing arguments from both sides, the Sindh High Court accepted the appeal, declaring the life sentence null and void.

The verdict marks a major legal development in one of Karachi’s longest-running terrorism-related cases, dating back to the height of political violence in the city during the late 1990s.