11 November 2004	Thursday	27 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Nov 10: An anti-terrorism court put off on Wednesday the hearing of the Haideri mosque bomb blast case against a worker of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi after recording statements of two prosecution witnesses, including a man who was wounded in the blast.

Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 put off the hearing till Thursday after the special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum examined Syed Mazhar Hussain, the injured victim, and Sub-inspector Azizur Rehman, one of the police party member that arrested the accused Gul Hasan on June 13 in the Kalri police jurisdiction.

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

The accused is stated to haveplanned the attacks with absconding accused who included Asif Chhotu and Mufti Obaid.

PW Syed Mazhar Hussain said he performed Zuhrain prayers daily in the mosque. He said on the day of blast he was in the fifth or sixth row of the faithful.

The prosecution witness said the blast occurred at 1:15pm as the peshimam called for Takbeer. He said he was severely injured in the blast. He said he was shifted to the Civil Hospital and then moved to Liaquat National Hospital, where he remained bed-ridden for 25 days.

Prosecution witness SI Azizur Rehman stated that he was in the police party which arrested the accused on June 13 in the Kalri police area.

Defence counsel Mushtaq Tanloi, who disputed the time and place of the arrest, also cross-examined the PW.