03 November 2004	Wednesday	19 Ramazan 1425

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KARACHI, Nov 2: Prosecution examined on Tuesday one of its prime witnesses in the Haideri Mosque bomb blast case against a worker of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.

Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 put off the hearing till Nov 4 after the deposition of head constable Habibullah Niazi, who submitted to have seen accused Gul Hasan giving a briefcase to suicide bomber constable Akbar Khan Niazi.

As many as 26 people were killed and 98 others injured on May 7 when a suicide bomber blew himself inside the Haideri mosque on the premises of the Sindh Madressatul Islam.

Accused Gul Hasan, the alleged mastermind of the blasts, was arrested on June 13 in Mithadar. He is stated to have planned the attacks with absconding accused who included Asif Chuto and Mufti Obaid.

The head-constable stated that he was posted at the madressah on the day of the blast. He said around 12:45pm he saw a white car entering the institution from Sharah-i-Liaquat.

The prosecution witness said the car was occupied by four people, three of them bearded ones. He said a motorcycle with a pillion-rider also stopped near the car as the four occupants, one of whom in a police uniform, got down.

Niazi said accused Gul Hasan was carrying a briefcase, which he handed to the man in police uniform, who was also sporting a beard. Later, all of them embraced the constable who left for the Haideri mosque and the three others entered the Sunni mosque on the premises.

He said around 1:15pm a blast occurred and people started running here and there. He said he immediately informed the police station about the incident through a cellular phone of a passerby.

The prosecution witness, who was also cross-examined by the defence counsel, Mushtaq Ahmed, said he had also identified accused Gul Hasan during an identification parade before a judicial magistrate.

He said the SHO of the Mithadar and other senior police officials immediately reached the spot. He said the investigation officer collected the burnt pieces of rugs and blood-stained clothes of the faithful from the spot.

The prosecution witness also placed on record a copy of station diary containing details of his duty place and timings on the blast day.

CORRUPTION CASE: An accountability court put off the hearing of a corruption case against a former joint secretary of the interior ministry and his wife after recording statements of two prosecution witnesses.

Judge Mrs Qaiser Iqbal of the AC-1, who is also the administrative judge of all ACs in Karachi, fixed Nov 10 for recording statements of more prosecution witnesses.

Ziaul Islam, also a former commissioner of Karachi, and Mrs Kausar Perveen have been charged with amassing wealth and raising assets, worth over Rs40 million, beyond their known and legal means.

Special public prosecutor Akbar Ali examined Malik Mumraiz Khan, a former inspector of Anti-corruption Establishment, and Ghazanfar Nabi, an official of the Habib Bank.

The bank official also placed on record the details of the account of Adil Petroleum, allegedly owned by the former federal secretary.