An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad handed life imprisonment sentence to three prime suspects of the Imran Farooq murder case on Thursday. 

The judgment was read by ATC Judge Shahrukh Arjumand as the accused appeared before the court through a video link to attend the hearing.

“The prosecution has succeeded in proving the case against all three of you,” remarked the judge during today’s hearing.

The accused, Khalid Shamim, Mohsin Ali and Mauzzam Ali have been in Adiala jail ever since they were arrested.

The court also issued perpetual arrest warrants for MQM founder Altaf Hussain, Iftikhar Hussain, Muhammad Anwar and Kashif Kamran.

In its judgment the court also ordered the accused to pay Rs 1 million each to the heirs of the murdered MQM leader.

The ATC announced the reserved judgment today (Thursday) in the murder case of the MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq, who was killed nine years ago in London.

The judgment was reserved on May 21 after the completion of the trial. During the hearings, 29 witnesses recorded their statements in the case.

Dr Imran Farooq, a senior leader of the MQM, was stabbed to death by unidentified men outside his home in London on September 16, 2010.

A key suspect in the case, Khalid Shamin, in a confession statement made to the Pakistani law enforcement officials, claimed that the party founder gave him directions to assassinate Farooq in a telephonic speech to party workers in Karachi.

MQM leader was killed because he was a “potent threat to the leadership of MQM”, the suspect stated.