KARACHI: Lahori, 2 others identified in double-murder case
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 10: The chief of banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Akram Lahori, and his two alleged associates were identified on Thursday by a prosecution witness in an anti-terrorism court.
Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5, who is conducting the trial inside the jail, reserved the cross-examination of the prosecution witness till Friday on the request of the defence counsel, M. R. Syed, who was engaged in another case.
The case against Lashkar chief, Akram Lahori, and his men — Ataullah and Mohammed Azam — pertained to the killing of Anver Tirmizi and Zufiqar Haider in an attack on March 11, last year within the limits of the Shah Faisal police.
Special public prosecutor, Syed Nadeem Hussain Shah, examined Babar Ali Tirmizi, brother of the deceased Anver Tirmizi, as prosecution witness.
PW Babar Tirmizi, who is also complainant in the case, deposed that Zulfiqar Haider was the friend of his deceased brother.
He said that on the day of the incident, his brother’s friend had knocked at the door of their house, and he had opened the door for him. He said he informed his brother about the arrival of his friend and went to a tailor’s shop in front of his home.
The PW stated that he was standing at the tailor’s shop when the three accused came there on a motorcycle. He said Lahori remained on the bike and the pillion-riders, Ataullah and Azam, got down.
He said Ataullah was carrying an AK-47 assault rifle (kalashnikov) and Azam was holding a TT pistol. He said the two armed men first hurled expletives on his brother and his friend and then abruptly opened fire on them.
The prosecution witness said Zulfiqar tried to run away as the attackers opened fire, but Lahori, armed with a TT pistol, got down of his bike and opened fire on the running victim.
He said the three attackers fled the scene and he along with the area people took the victims to the hospital. He said that both the victims had already died before they were taken to the hospital.
The judge reserved the cross-examination of the prosecution on the request of the defence counsel, M. R. Syed, who was engaged in another case, being tried by another ATC inside the jail.
FRENCHMEN KILLING CASE: Judge Feroz Mahmood Bhatti of the Anti-terrorism Court No. 2 put off the hearing of the Frenchmen killing case after recording the statements of two prosecution witnesses.
The judge, who is conducting the trial inside the jail, fixed April 12 for the next hearing following the deposition of Dr Yahya and Dr P. C. Jaisrani, who had conducted autopsies on the bodies of the six victims.
Mohammed Asif Zaheer and Rizwanullah, who were allegedly trained in a camp belonging to Harkat Jehad-i-Islami in Afghanistan, are facing charges of killing 11 French naval engineers and two Pakistanis in a suicide bomb attack last year.
The French engineers, who were helping Pakistan build its Agosta 90-B submarine, were killed when an explosive-laden vehicle rammed into their bus outside the Sheraton hotel.
The bus of the Pak Navy, carrying the French engineers, was about to move in front of Sheraton Hotel on Club Road in the morning, when a car of red colour stopped beside the bus and blew up with a bang, also destroying it completely and causing damage to the shops located at the ground floor of the Pearl Continental and Sheraton Hotels.
The victims included Leclerc Jean Yves, Bled Cedric, Groux Pascal, Le Carpentier Daniel, Chevassut Jean Michael, Leconte Pascal, Drouet Claude, Dupont Bernard. A Pakistani woman was also among the dead.
Those injured were identified as Leveziel Laurent, Weegall Jean Marc, Madec Laig, Zante Jean Paul, Waupenie Jean Raymond, Waurent Jacques, Donnart Theirry, Jean Pierre, Etasse Claude, Laurent Jaques, Michel Vinduard, Sanson Gilles, Labat Frederic, Kamran Fazil (official of PN Qasim), Haji Mohammad Nazeer (employee of foreign consulate), Iqbal Shah (driver of Sheraton), Abdul Aziz, Haji Nadeem, Ali Haider Shah, Lal Sabir, Abdus Sattar and Zaid.
Two doctors were also cross-examined by the defence counsel, M. R. Syed.
BOMB BLAST CASE: Judge Feroz Mahmood Bhatti of the ATC-5 adjourned the hearing of a bomb blast case against an activist of the Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi as the defence counsel did not turn up.
Judge Feroz Mehmood Bhatti of the ATC-2, who is conducting the trial inside the Central Prison, fixed Friday for the next hearing of the case against Sabir Waseem.
The Aalmi worker has been charged with launching an anti-tank rocket (BM-107) that had pierced through the wall of the Commerce College on Ziauddin Ahmed Road on Nov 23, 2001.
Waseem was arrested red-handed on Feb 28, 2002, during a shootout with the police following an attack on a prisoners’ van, which was carrying, among others, Dilawar Hussain, a worker of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan.
DEFERRED: Judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi of the anti- terrorism court No. 1 deferred on Thursday the pronouncement of the judgment in the Salim Qadri murder case against a worker of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, Mohammed Faisal alias Pehalwan.
The judge, who conducted the trial inside the Central Prison, fixed Friday for the pronouncement of the verdict.
The ST chief and five others were killed on May 18, 2001, in Baldia Town in an ambush, while they were being driven to a mosque for Juma prayers.
The dead included Anis Qadri, 23, nephew of the ST chief, and Altaf Husain, brother-in-law of Maulana Saleem Qadri, Ibrahim Qadri and Abid Baloch, driver of the victims’ car.
