KARACHI: Judge issues warrants for arrest of absconders: Omar Shaikh’s trial begins
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 5: The formal proceedings of the Daniel Pearl kidnapping case commenced on Friday inside the Central Prison, Karachi. No reporter or observer was allowed to attend the proceedings by the authorities.
Ahmed Saeed Omar Shaikh, the alleged mastermind of Pearl’s Jan 23 kidnapping, and three co-defendants — Salman Saqib, Fahad Naseem and Adil Shaikh — were produced before Judge Arshad Noor Khan of ATC-3 who issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of seven absconding accused.
The judge put off the hearing of the case till 12th when the accused persons, who face charges of murder, kidnapping and terrorism, are expected to be formally indicted in the case by the court.
The absconding accused are: Amjad Hussain Farooqui alias Haider Farooqui alias Hasan, Asif alias Qasim, Hashim, Qari Abdul Qadeer, Hasan alias Ahmed Bhai, Imtiaz Siddiqui and a person who purchased the Polaroid camera.
The authorities even did not allow six local journalists, who had obtained a court order on their application for attending the court proceedings.
According to the order No. ATC-111/K/1047/2002, issued on Thursday by Judge Arshad Noor Khan, the court allowed the six reporters of the local newspapers to cover the proceedings for 5-4-2002 and directed the jail superintendent “to allow them to attend the court on the aforesaid date at about 10am”.
Later, Khawaja Naveed Ahmed, counsel for Adil Shaikh and Fahad Naseem, briefed the curious journalists upon the court proceedings.
He said accused Salman Saqib addressed the court like a Khatib (orator) and complained about torture in custody.
“According to Saqib, the police slapped him on the face for 350 times and hit him with a whip for 450 times during custody”, the counsel said.
The counsel quoted Salman Saqib as telling the court that he had been in Jehad in Kashmir where he was also wounded. He (Saqib) said his wounds were bleeding due to police torture, he said.
The counsel said the accused also complained before the court that the police officials had taken Rs67,000 from him at the time of his arrest. Senior superintendent of police, investigation, Manzoor Ahmed Mughul, appeared before the court assuring the return of money.
Salman Saqib also said that Fahad Naseem was implicated in the case merely because he was his cousin. “I have participated in Jehad in Kashmir and have given sacrifices for Pakistan, and this is what I am getting for my sacrifices”, Khawaja Naveed quoted the accused as saying before the court.
The counsel told the reporters that Saeed appeared quiet and calm. “He kept on talking to his father in a very low tone during the proceedings”, he said.
Earlier, advocate general, Sindh, Raja Qureshi, placed a letter about the three-member team of the prosecutors.
Abdul Waheed Katpar, the counsel for Saeed, moved three applications in the court seeking copies of certain documents.
The court granted his application for the supply of the copies of the e-mail messages, allegedly sent by the accused persons.
Counsel Katpar’s application, seeking copy of the report of the hand-writing expert, was, however, turned down by the judge following the objections of the chief prosecutor.
A lawyer from Lahore, Rai Bashir, filed the power on behalf of accused Salman Saqib for his defence. He also moved an application for the medical check-up of his client by a doctor of his own choice. The judge granted the application, allowing Dr. Tabish of the Aga Khan Medical University Hospital to check the accused on his cost.
The US journalist, whose body has not yet been found, was allegedly kidnapped in front of a restaurant near Metropole Hotel on Jan 23. A video tape received by the US consulate in Karachi on Feb 21 documented his murder.
Meanwhile, the six reporters, who were not allowed to attend the court proceedings despite court orders, moved an application against the jail authorities for contempt of court order before the ATC-3.
