KARACHI, Oct 11: An anti-terrorism court reserved on Saturday judgment in the plot to kill President Parvez Musharraf case against the top leaders and workers of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi.
Judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi of the ATC-1, who conducted the trial inside the Central Prison, fixed Oct 18 for pronouncement of the judgement after hearing final arguments from the prosecution and defence.
Aalmi chief Mohammed Imran, his deputy Mohammed Hanif, finance secretary Mohammed Ashraf, and workers Waseem Akhtar and Sharib, have been charged with hatching a conspiracy to blow up the president’s motorcade within the limits of Airport police.
Four other workers of the banned religious outfit — Habibullah Khattak, Mohammed Jamil, Mohammed Aamir and Kamran — have been declared absconders.
Special public prosecutor Maula Bux Bhatti argued that three of the accused had confessed to have made an abortive attempt on the life of the president in last April.
He submitted that accused Habibullah Khattak, who was given Rs400,000 by the Aalmi leaders, brought explosives and other weapons in a truck from the upcountry.
According to prosecution, accused Jamil was allegedly given Rs85,000 for purchasing a Suzuki pick-up, which was laden with the explosive. The explosive-laden vehicle was parked near a shop at the Falak Naz Arcade, and accused Kamran had the remote control to blow up the explosives.
It was alleged that accused Kamran, who had positioned himself at a petrol pump near Star Gate on the Sharea Faisal, pushed the remote control button several times but the vehicle did not blow up.
The accused had allegedly rented out the shop in a fake name and accused Aamir used to sit at the shop.
Accused Sharib allegedly stuffed the vehicle with explosives, and accused Naved and Jamil allegedly assembled the explosive devise and its remote control.
It was alleged that the accused Rangers official had given the information regarding the arrival of the president, and accused Mohammed Hanif, Imran, Jamil, Naveed, Aamir and Sharib had positioned themselves near the Awami Markaz.
The special public prosecutor contended that the Aalmi leaders wanted to kill President Musharraf for his anti-Taliban and pro-US policies.
The defence counsel, who included Khawaja Naveed and Abdul Waheed Katpur, argued that the case of the prosecution was full of contradictions. They contended that the prosecution case was not supported by the material evidence.
The Aalmi chief, his deputy were earlier on April 14 sentenced to death and two other party workers, including Sharib, to life terms by the same ATC for killing 12 people and injuring 43 others in a car bomb attack on the US consulate last year.
KIDNAPPING FOR RANSOM: Judge Arshad Noor Khan of the ATC-3 put off the hearing of a kidnapping for ransom case till Oct 14 after the deposition of a prosecution witness.
Ghulam Hussain Soomro, Mohammed Akbar and Imran have been charged with the kidnapping of Abdus Samad for Rs3 million ransom on Aug 24 in Garden West.
Special public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa examined SI Tasawwar Hussain as sixth prosecutor witness.
According to prosecution, four men kidnapped the son of Mohammed Hanif, a prize bond dealer.
The police arrested Ghulam Hussain Soomro, who had rented the car (H-7296). The accused led to the arrest of his two accomplice and recovery of the hostage on Aug 28.
Three accused, Arshad alias Pappu son of Haji Lalu, Rustam alias Haider and Ilyas, have been declared absconders.
