ATC exonerates alleged hitman.

KARACHI -- An antiterrorism court on Thursday exonerated an alleged 'commander' of a political party's militant wing in a case pertaining to the targeted killing of two tea vendors on ethnic grounds.

Accused Umair Siddiqui, aka Jailor, was acquitted of the charges of murdering Iqbal Hussain and Niaz Gul in their eatery in the Gulshan-i-Maymar neighbourhood in April 2013.

The ATC-VII judge noted that the prosecution failed to prove charges against the detained accused, and ordered the prison authorities to release him forthwith if his custody was not required in any other case.

According to the prosecution, Siddiqui was allegedly involved in the targeted killing of the victims on ethnic grounds.

Initially, the Rangers claimed arrest of Siddiqui during a raid at Nine Zero on March 11, 2015, adding that he was the handler of the party's target-killing team.

According to a press release issued by the paramilitary force, the suspect had been leading a team of...