KARACHI, June 30: The Nishtar Park blast inquiry tribunal adjourned its proceedings on Friday due to the non-availability of witnesses being produced by the Pakistan Sunni Movement.

Representing the PSM, Advocate Javaid Ahmed Chhatari submitted that the witnesses could not come from various areas because of Juma prayers. He said he would be examining eight or nine witnesses, besides PSM chief Shah Sirajul Haq Qadri, who was present on stage at Nishtar Park on April 11. Two of the state witnesses, Mohammad Asif and Bashir Chishti, in fact, belonged to the PSM, the counsel said.

Injured eye-witness Asif, meanwhile, produced a pellet extracted by a surgeon from his arm. He was offering prayers on the ground adjacent to the stage after crossing the ‘rope barrier’ with others. Bashir Chishti, who was seriously injured in the blast while sitting on the stage, would be brought in a police van on Monday as he expressed his inability to move on his own.

The tribunal, which consists of Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi of the Sindh High Court, has called Bashir Chishti for further examination after seeing a video cassette produced by a TV channel and going through other pictorial evidence. Saturday’s session has been reserved for video viewing. On Monday, the tribunal would meet at 11.30am as Justice Jafferi has exhausted his vacation and will also be disposing his judicial work besides conducting inquiry.