LAHORE: Mustafa Kanju, son of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Siddique Kanju, confessed to firing the shots that resulted in the death of Zain, a 16-year-old orphan.
Kanju asserted he was not intoxicated at the time, and that he resorted to aerial firing as he became enraged after an accident. He said Zain was not the target of the fire, nor did he intend to kill Zain or anyone else.
Forensic reports reveal that Kanju’s fingerprints are on a Kalashnikov firearm that was recovered from the scene.
Kanju had been sent on an eight-day physical remand on Friday after a hearing at an anti-terrorism court.
During the hearing, Kanju argued that the fact that he fired shots did not mean they led to Zain’s death. He had claimed he was innocent and that the police and the victim’s relatives were conspiring to trap him in the case.
The lawyer of the accused stated that Zain had fallen victim to cross-firing between Mustafa and his ‘opponents’ ? whom he did not identify ? and that Kanju had no personal enmity with Zain.
Mustafa Kanju was arrested on Thursday after a case was registered against him under 7-ATA and Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Kanju was infuriated after his luxury car accidentally hit the vehicle of a woman in Cavalry Ground. He opened indiscriminate fire and bullets hit Zain, 16, a motorcyclist, and Husnain, 18, who had come out of the house after hearing the noise. Zain, a class-IX student, died on the spot and Husnain was critically injured.
Sources claimed six security guards of Kanju were arrested on Wednesday night from his residence in Old Cavalry Ground. Police also recovered empty shells of a gun from the crime scene and later seized the gun used in the incident.
INP/AH
