KARACHI, July 13: The Anti-Terrorism Court-III, holding a trial in the Allama Hassan Turabi’s murder case, dismissed on Friday two applications filed by the defence counsel. Allama Turabi, provincial vice-president of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and chief of the Tehrik-i-Islami, was killed in a suicide attack on July 14, 2006 near his house in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. His nephew, Imran Ali Turabi also died in the attack by a man identified by police as Abdul Karim.

The severed head of the suicide bomber was found at the scene of the blast. Three police guards sustained injured in the attack while a woman standing in the balcony of her nearby apartment received pellets from the explosive device.

ATC-III Judge Syed Saghir Hussain Zaidi had on July 10 reserved pronouncement of his order till July 12. However, it could not be announced owing to lawyers’ strike.

The defence counsel had submitted two applications, one under Section 265 C for obtaining a copy of the confessional statement of the accused, and the other under Section 234 and Section 235 of Cr.PC for framing the same charges against the accused in the suicide attack and an earlier abortive attack on the Allama.

Special Public Prosecutor Niamat Ali Randhawa opposed the defence counsel’s contentions, arguing that the copy of the confessional statement could not be provided to the defence before the indictment of the accused.

Regarding the other application, the prosecution maintained that the charges against the accused in the two cases were different in nature as one case was registered by the Mobina Town police on April 6, 2006 and pertained to the attempted murder whereas the second case was registered on July 14, 2006 by the Sachal police for assassinating the religious scholar.

The court rejected both the applications and fixed July 26 for framing charges against the accused in the case.

The bid on Allama Turabi’s life was made on April 6 last year when an explosive-laden pushcart was rammed into his vehicle passing through Abul Hasan Ispahani Road. The Allama had accused the outlawed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi of being behind the attack.

Moments before falling victim to the suicide bombing, Allama Turabi had returned home under police escort after attending an anti-Israel demonstration organised by the MMA.

Police had arrested five accused, Amin, Sultan Mehmood, Mohammad Rehman, Ashfaq Qureshi and Akbar Khan while five, Khalid, Suhail Siddiqui, Ali Hasan, Hazrat Ali and Mufti Ilyas, were declared absconders.