KARACHI: Police told to submit charge-sheet in mosque blast case
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, June 30: Judge Arshad Noor Khan of anti-terrorism court ordered on Wednesday police to submit the final charge- sheet (challan) against the alleged mastermind of the mosque blasts.
The judge remanded accused Gul Hasan, an alleged worker of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, to the judicial custody as the police produced him before the court after the completion of his police remand.
The alleged mastermind of the bomb blasts was brought to the court in an armoured personnel carrier amidst tightened security. In Hyderi mosque blast case, the judge ordered the police to submit the final charge-sheet till July 13.
Around 23 people were killed and over 40 others were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself inside Hyderi mosque. In Ali Raza mosque blast case, the judge ordered the police to submit final charge-sheet against the accused till July 10. Around 24 people were killed and dozens of people were injured inside Ali Raza mosque in the bomb blast.
The investigation officer sought time to submit charge sheet against the accused on the plea that the DNA test of the alleged suicide bomber in Ali Raza mosque, Muhammad Ali Memon, was yet to be conducted.
The alleged mastermind of the blasts was arrested on June 13 within the limits of the Mithadar police. He is stated to have planned the attacks with absconding accused - Asif Chuto and Mufti Obaid.
TRIPLE MURDER CASE: The same court formally indicted 10 activists of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan in a triple murder case. The judge ordered special public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa to produce prosecution witnesses in the case on Thursday.
SSP activists - Mansoor Ali Babar, Umer Hayat, Karimullah, Ahmed Zahoor, Hafiz Ahmed Bukhsh, Syed Asif Ali, Muhammad Fazil, Khawaja Saleemuddin, Atiqur Rehman and Ishtiaq Ali - have been charged with killing three persons and injuring seven others on Feb 4, 1995 in Gulberg.
The SSP activists denied their involvement in the case and pleaded "not guilty". According to prosecution, the accused opened discriminate firing on people in 'duboo club' (carom board club).
Muhammad Abbas Naqvi, Javed Iqbal and Syed Faraz Raza were killed and Mirza Muhammad Raza, Muhammad Khan, Sakhiullah, Nadeem, Azmi, Syed Muhammad Naqi, and Shakirullah were injured in the attack.
Three accused - Asif Ali, Muhammad Fazil and Khawaja Saleemuddin - were not produced before the court as they were condemned to death in other sectarian killing cases.
Defence counsel S.M. Iqbal moved an application seeking permission to represent his clients in their absence. The court allowed his application as the prosecutor did not raise any objection to the defence counsel's application.
Two of the accused, Atiqur Rehman and Ishtiaq Ali, are on bail while the others are in jail. All of them were earlier awarded death sentence in three sectarian killing cases on Nov 27, 1995 by the trial court. However, the Sindh High Court in April 2004 maintained the sentence awarded to Asif Ali, Muhammad Fazil and Khawaja Saleemuddin, while acquitted the remaining accused.
