Two muggers jailed for 39 years in robbery, attempted murder and illicit weapons cases.

KARACHI -- An antiterrorism court on Tuesday handed down a collective sentence of 39-year imprisonment to two men on charges of committing armed robbery, encounter with police and possession of illicit arms.

Muhammad Waseem and Mohsinullah were found guilty of looting three citizens at gunpoint and later engaging in an encounter with police within the jurisdiction of the Gulshan-i-Iqbal police station on May 5, 2020.

On Tuesday, the judge of the ATC-V, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pronounced his verdict reserved after recording evidence and final arguments from both sides.

'The act of accused creates sense of fear, insecurity and panic in the mind of general public, therefore, both accused have committed the offence of terrorism,' the judge noted.

'All the accused jointly in furtherance of their common intention arrived with deadly weapons, committed robbery from the complainant and his neighbours, when the complainant went to the Fruit Mandi for purchasing fruit,' the judge wrote in the verdict.

The court awarded them a collective sentence of 39-year imprisonment on counts of committing armed robbery, attempted murder, assault on the law enforcers with unlicensed weapons and causing terrorism.

The judge also sentenced a third accused, Abdul Ghafoor, to seven-year-imprisonment for harbouring the convicts.

They were sent back to the prison to serve out the remainder of their sentences.

The court kept the case against two absconding accused - Najeebullah Khan and Shakir - on dormant file till their arrest or surrender since they had already been declared proclaimed offenders.

According to the prosecution, four men on two motorcycles were busy looting a Suzuki pickup driver and his two neighbours, who were on their way to Fruit Mandi, on May 5, 2020.

In the meantime, a police van arrived there and the accused...