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KARACHI, March 5: Two witnesses have identified a worker of the Harkatul Mujahideen Al Aalmi before an Anti-Terrorism Court on Wednesday, who is being tried in a bomb blast case.
ATC-2 Judge Feroz Mehmood Bhatti, who is conducting the trial in the Central Prison, fixed Thursday for recording further evidence against the accused, Sabir Waseem, after the deposition of the witnesses.
The Al Aalmi member had been accused of launching an anti- tank rocket (BM-107) on Nov 23, 2001, which had pierced through the wall of Commerce College at the Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road.
According to the prosecution, Waseem and his absconding accomplice, Asif Ramzi, in an attempt to target Americans staying at the second and third floor of Sheraton Hotel, reached near the college to fire a rocket. The two, carrying the rocket and its locally made launcher in a bag reached near the hotel on a motorbike at around 9:30 pm, and tried to position the launcher on a pushcart, the prosecution said.
In the meantime, as Waseem was positioning the launcher, the rocket got detonated owing to short circuit and hit the wall of the College. It landed in a classroom making an eight-inch hole in the wall.
The two witnesses — Mohammed Ashraf and Mohammed Afzal — deposed before the court that they were loaders on a truck and they had come to load paper waste from a junkyard, near Commerce College.
They said that they left the junkyard for dinner and on their way found the accused standing beside a pushcart. The witnesses said that they asked the two if a hotel was nearby.
They pointed out the way, which was located some 100 paces from the college, the witnesses said and added that while they were washing hands at the hotel an explosion was heard.
The witnesses said they also saw smoke on and around the pushcart. They also claimed to have seen the two accused fleeing on their motorbike.
Both the witnesses had also identified accused Waseem in a set of dummies during an identification parade before a judicial magistrate.
According to bomb disposal squad, the device was a 25- kilogramme anti-tank rocket with 10 to 12 kgs of explosive material.
Waseem was arrested red-handed during a shootout with police following an attack on a prisoners’ van, which was carrying among others Dilawar Hussain, a worker of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, near Bohra Pir on Feb 28, 2002. Two people, including a constable, Shakil, were killed.
Ramzi and two others — Ataur Rehman and Naeem Bukhari — were declared absconders in this case.
During the interrogation, the police found the lower body of Waseem severely burnt. He disclosed before the police that he was injured while firing the rocket.
FRENCHMEN KILLING: Jail authorities did not produce on Wednesday the two accused in the Frenchmen killing case before an anti-terrorism court owing to the security reasons.
Judge Feroz Mehmood Bhatti fixed Monday for regular hearing of the case after the jail authorities said that a notification for conducting the trial of the accused persons inside jail was still awaited from the home department.
The authorities have sought permission from the home department to conduct the trial of the accused in the jail as their producing before an open court would be a risk.
Earlier, the home department had notified jail trials of the accused, belonging to the banned sectarian and Jihadi groups, in as many as 30 cases.
The accused in these cases include self-styled chiefs of banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al Aalmi and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
Mohammed Asif Zaheer and Rizwanullah, who were allegedly trained in a camp belonging to Harkatul Jihad-i-Islami in Afghanistan, were facing the charges of killing 11 French naval engineers and two Pakistanis in a suicide bomb attack last year.
Meanwhile, the publication of the proclaimation of the five absconding accused in the case was placed before the judge.
The judge, on Feb 24, had declared Mohammed Saeed alias Akram, Adnan Qamar alias Noni alias Osama, Abdul Samad, Basit and Mustafa as absconders.
The judge also ordered accused Rizwan to engage a lawyer for his defence and ensure his presence on the next date, else the court would order the appointment of a counsel for him on state expenses.
Accused Asif Zaheer is being represented by M. R. Syed and special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum is appearing on behalf of the state.
