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KARACHI, March 3: The Anti-terrorism Court No 1, headed by Judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi, adjourned on Monday the hearing of the US Consulate carbombing case against the leaders and workers of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi after the deposition of two prime witnesses for the prosecution.
Mohammed Hussain, a cab driver, and Mohammed Ramzan, a motorcyclist, stated to have seen the accused embracing with their accomplices at the traffic signal at the Hoshing Road minutes after the blast.
The self-styled chief of his own Aalmi faction of the banned organization, Mohammed Imran; his deputy, Mohammed Ashraf, and finance secretary Mohammed Hanif and workers Sharib and Zubair have been charged with the carbombing that had killed 12 people, including five women, and injured 43 others.
The judge, who is holding the trial inside the central prison, put off the proceeding till next Saturday when the prosecution would produce its three last witnesses, including two investigation officers.
The prime witnesses, who had also identified the accused before a judicial magistrate during an identification parade, deposed that they saw accused Imran, Hanif, Sharif and Zubair embracing each other as they stopped at the traffic signal.
The two witnesses were also cross examined by defence counsel Abdul Wahid Katpur, Khawaja Naveed, Raza Abidi and Maqboolur Rahman. Assistant advocate-general Habib Ahmed and special public prosecutors Maula Bux Bhatti and Abdul Waheed Khan represented the state.
LAHORI ARRANGED: Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 indicted the chief of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Akram Lahori, and two others in another sectarian killing case.
Lahori, Ataullah and Mohammed Azam, however, denied their involvement in the case and pleaded “not guilty”, when the judge formally framed the charges.
The accused were charged with the killing of Anver Tirmizi and Zulfiqar Haider on March 4 last year within the limits of the Shah Faisal police.
MAJOR ZARGHAM CASE: The judicial magistrate, South, Rahmat Ullah Moro, recorded the statement of Colonel Ayaz Khan Qaimkhani in the inquiry into a direct complaint against the chief of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee and 19 others, including a senior superintendent of police, for involving an army officer in a Hudood case.
Major Mohammed Zargham Mirza had lodged a direct complaint before the judicial magistrate for registration of criminal case against 20 respondents, including Jamil Yousuf and A.D Khawaja, under section 182, 500 and 506 of the PPC.
Those made respondent in the complaint included: Zaeem Iqbal, ASP, Lubna Tiwana, then SHO of Women Police Station, Inspector Abdul Hakim Bangash, Azhar Ellahi and Sharf Memon.
Meanwhile, Waqar Shah Advocate, appearing for Major Zargham, submitted his objections to an application filed on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, Sindh, seeking exemption of the police chief from his appearance before the court.
The counsel for the IGP had filed the application for recalling the summons, issued for the appearance of the police chief before the court in this matter.
The counsel submitted that the IGP’s application for deleting his name as a witness was not supported by any provision of law.
He stated that the criminal court could not review its own order and that once an order was passed it would attain finality unless challenged at the appellant jurisdiction.
The court fixed March 10 for further proceedings.
