KARACHI, Sept 9: An anti-terrorism court indicted the Waheed brothers on Thursday for a series of charges including medical treatment to Al-Qaeda activists and other terrorists, and for sending people to Wana for terrorist training.
Judge Feroze Mehmood Bhatti of the ATC-2, who is conducting the trial inside the Central Prison, fixed September 14 for commencing the trial. Dr Akmal Waheed and his younger brother, Dr Arshad Waheed, denied the charges and pleaded "not guilty".
The two brothers are facing charges of financing, harbouring and treating the activists of the Jundullah. The police announced the arrest of the Waheed brothers on July 2, though the family claimed they had been picked up on June 17.
According to the police, some Jundullah activists, arrested for their involvement in the attack on the corps commander's convoy and other terrorist activities, stated that the doctor brothers had close links with them.
The two doctors were given into police custody for interrogation in the corps commander's convoy attack case and a Rangers' killing case till July 14. However, later they were exonerated from the charges in both cases, and were booked by the police in a fresh case on July 15.
The fresh case was registered by the Gulshan-i-Iqbal police under sections 201, 211 and 216 of the Pakistan Penal Code and sections 21-C, 21-J and 11-M of the Anti-Terrorism Act for financing, assisting, harbouring and treating the activists of the banned Jundullah.
The two brothers, one a cardio specialist and the other a kidney surgeon, stood calm and quiet as the judge read over the charges to them. They were charged with supporting, assisting, and providing different kinds of facilities, including financial help, to members of the Jundullah terrorist group.
The charge read: "That you provided facilities of training to the workers of the Jundullah group namely, Shahzad Ahmed Bajwah and Muhammad Qasim, by sending them through absconding accused Kashif, PA to accused Dr Akmal Waheed to Abeda Khan, brother of Naik Mohammed, to Wana for terrorist training, where they were provided training of operating kalashnikovs (AK-47 rifle), LMGs (light machine guns) and other modern weapons, besides preparation of bombs and causing blasts.
You also used to give shelter to the workers of Jundullah group. You gave shelter to Abu Massab, Gul Hasan and Hassam Al-Saim, terrorists of Al-Qaeda, and did provide treatment to the workers of Jundullah, whosoever sustained any injury in an incident of terrorism and in this connection.
"On 19-3-2004, terrorists of the Jundullah group attacked the mobile van of Pakistan Rangers parked under the Baloch Colony bridge in which two persons were killed and several persons sustained injuries.
As such a separate FIR No 179/2004 was lodged at PS Ferozeabad. During that incident, one terrorist of Jundullah group namely Shahzad Ahmed Bajwah was injured and for his treatment terrorist Attaur Rehman made a phone call from his mobile phone No 0333-2202544 on the mobile phone of Dr Akmal Waheed, having No 0300-8207522, upon which you asked the caller to bring the injured at Shan Hospital (Bism-e-Taqi Hospital) and got the said terrorist treated illegally through Dr Saqib, Dr Rehana and dresser/X-ray technician Syed Murtaza Qadri.
"And on 10-6-2004, in the incident of attack on the convoy of the corps commander, one terrorist Mohammed Qasim had sustained injuries and he was stealthily treated by you, Arshad Waheed, at the house of terrorist Attaur Rahman, situated in Model Colony, Karachi.
And both of you kept the above fact of sustaining the injury by the above named terrorist intentionally secret and did not furnish such information to the authorities concerned and, thereby, both of you committed offences punishable under sections 201, 212, 216 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code read with sections 11 (N), 21 (C) and 21 (J) of the Anti-Terrorist Act, 1997, and within the cognizance of this court."
COP'S MURDER CASE: An accused in the murder case of a constable was identified on Thursday in an anti-terrorism court by a prosecution witness. Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5, who had earlier sentenced two others accused to death in the same case, put off the hearing till Friday after the deposition of Head Constable Anwar ul Haq, who was also the complainant.
Syed Amir Hussain alias Fauji, who was arrested on November 8, 2003, is being tried for killing Mehboob Ali and injuring two other cops on January 13, 2003 in the compound of the Saudabad police station.
HC Anwar ul Haq stated that five suspects were spotted by a Saudabad police party in a stolen car (AAB-588). He said the police party intercepted them and brought the suspects and their car to the police station.
The prosecution witness submitted that as the accused got down from the car, one of them hurled a fire cracker. They snatched a sub-machine gun from a constable and opened fire, as the smoke and dust engulfed the scene after the explosion. He said PC Mehboob died instantly and two other policemen were injured.
Defence counsel Fahim Zia also cross-examined the prosecution witness. Special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum is representing the state. The Orangi Town police had arrested two accused - Kashif and Zahir - on April 3, 2003 in the same case. They were tried by the ATC-5 and were sentenced to death.
The judge had also awarded multiple sentences, including life term to Kashif Aziz alias Kashif Mota and Mohammed Zahir, who had also injured Sub-inspector Abdur Rauf and Head Constable Mohammed Rafique.
Besides being sentenced to death for the offence under section 302 (b) of the Pakistan Penal Code "for committing Qatle-e-Amad of PC Mehboob", the two accused had also been handed down capital punishment "for committing an act of terrorism under Section 7 (a) of the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997".
The two convicts had been sentenced to life term under Section 3 of the Explosive Substance Act, 1908, for possessing explosive material. They had also been sentenced to a two-year term under sections 397, 186 353 and 34 of the PPC.
They had been given a 10-year term under Section 337-D of the PPC for injuring SI Abdul Rauf. Another seven-year term had been handed down to Kashif Aziz and Mohammed Zahir for injuring HC Mohammed Rafiq under Section 337-F (vi) of the PPC. For committing an act of terrorism under Section 7 of the ATA, both the accused had been sentenced to a 10-year term.
