KARACHI, April 23: The prosecution in a double murder case against the chief of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and two others prayed the court on Wednesday to award capital punishment to the defendants as the court reserved the judgement.
Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the Anti-terrorism Court No. 5, who conducted the trial inside the Central Prison, fixed April 26 for the pronouncement of the verdict after hearing the final arguments from the prosecution and the defence.
The case against Lashkar chief, Mohammed Ajmal alias Akram Lahori, and co-accused — Ataullah and Mohammed Azam — pertained to the killing of Anver Tirmizi and Zufiqar Haider in an attack on March 11, last year in Shah Faisal Colony.
While recording their statements in the court, the three defendants said that they were innocent and that they had been implicated in the case by the police. They also deposed that the prosecution witnesses had deposed against them because they belonged to the rival sect.
The prosecution, in all, examined 13 witnesses, including three eye-witnesses, against the accused. The brother of deceased Tirmizi was one of the eye-witnesses, who identified the three accused before the trial court during their depositions.
Special public prosecutor, Syed Nadeem Hussain Shah, prayed the court to award death penalty to the accused as the prosecution had proved its case beyond any shadow of doubt.
He referred to the depositions of the three eye-witnesses and contended that the accused had been duly identified by the witnesses during separate identification parades before a judicial magistrate.
M. R. Syed represented the three accused in the case.
FRENCHMEN KILLING CASE: Judge Feroz Mahmood Bhatti of the ATC-2 put off the hearing of Frenchmen killing case after recording statements of three prosecution witnesses.
The judge, who is conducting the trial inside the Central Prison, fixed April 26 for the next hearing.
Mohammed Asif Zaheer and Rizwanullah, who were allegedly trained in a camp belonging to Harkat Jihad-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 hit 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 Michel, Leconte Pascal, Drouet Claude, Dupont Bernard. A Pakistani woman was also among the dead.
Special public prosecutor, Maula Bux Bhatti, examined sub- inspector Nafees Ahmed, SI Mohammed Babar and ASI Mohammed Zahoor, who were also cross-examined by the defence counsel, M. R. Syed and Gohar Iqbal.
The proceedings started around 1pm on the request of defence counsel M. R. Syed, who was earlier engaged in the ATC-5. The proceedings continued till 6:30pm.
