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Pakistani Judge Throws Out Attempted Murder Case Against Baby


Nine-month-old baby Musa Khan sits on his grandfather's lap before appearing in a court in Lahore, April 12, 2014.
Nine-month-old baby Musa Khan sits on his grandfather's lap before appearing in a court in Lahore, April 12, 2014.
A Pakistani judge threw out charges of attempted murder against a 9-month-old baby on Saturday, lawyers said, in a case that cast a spotlight on Pakistan's dysfunctional justice system.

Baby Musa Khan appeared in court in the city of Lahore, sitting on his grandfather's lap and drinking from a bottle of milk.

He and his adult relatives were charged this month with attempting to murder a policeman after his family clashed with police and gas company workers trying to collect overdue bills.

Police registered a case against the whole family.

"Police told the court that the nomination of Musa in the case of attacking police and gas company officials was a human error and Musa is not required," defense lawyer Irfan Sadiq told Reuters.

The baby's grandfather, Muhammad Yasin, and his three sons still face the charges.

Pictures taken at an earlier court hearing of Musa crying as he was being fingerprinted provoked widespread ridicule and provincial officials called for an inquiry.
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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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