KARACHI    -    A local court partially rejected the investigation officer’s report in Nazim Jokhio murder case on Monday.

“The investigation officer is not empowered to acquit an accused,” Malir court said in its written order over the re­port of the IO of the high profile murder case.

“The court is empowered to accept or reject the investi­gation officer’s section 173 report,” the order read. “It is up to the court to decide on acquittal of accused in the light of case evidence,” the decision read.

The court removed the names of six accused including Jam Abdul Kareem MNA from the case. “These six accused were not named in the murder FIR,” the court said.

The court also acquitted Ahmed and Abdul Razzaq from the case. “All evidences prove that the crime has been com­mitted, Jam Awais has to face the case,” the court ordered while rejecting the investigation officer’s report with re­gard to removing the name of Jam Awais from the case.

“The role of accused Doda Khan, Niaz Salar, Mohammad Mairaj, Mohammad Saleem, Mohammad Zahid and Mo­hammad Soomar also proved in the crime,” according to the court order. “The accused have to face charges in the case against them,” court said.

It is to be mentioned here that the investigation officer had recommended excluding the names of 13 accused in­cluding Jam Abdul Karim and Jam Awais in his report on the high profile murder case.

In October last year, the family of Nazim Jokhio said that PPP MPA Jam Awais Gohram Jokhio and his men had al­legedly tortured Nazim Jokhio to death as he tried to stop his foreign guests from hunting houbara bustards in the Memon Goth area of Karachi.

Police registered a murder case against PPP MPA Awais, his brother MNA Jam Karim and others. They de­tained Awais but Jam Karim left the country and flew to Dubai, only to return later to cast his vote in no-trust mo­tion against Imran Khan.