KARACHI, Oct 2: An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing in a case pertaining to a conspiracy to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf on April 26, 2002, in Karachi.
Judge Ghulam Ali Samtio of ATC-I, who is conducting the trial in the Central Prison, fixed Oct 8 for recording the statements of the prosecution witnesses in the case.
The court had recorded the deposition of a police inspector, Mohammad Tariq, as a prosecution witness in the case on Sept 4.In his statement, Mohammad Tariq said that the accused, Waseem Akhtar, was arrested in his presence. He identified the accused and said he was a member of the police party.
The court had indicted Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Hanif alias Ayub, Mohammad Ashraf, Waseem Akhtar, Mohammad Jamil and Arsalan alias Sharib when the accused had pleaded not guilty on July 14.
On July 24 the court had recorded the statements of three witnesses, Inspector Mohammad Hussain Khaskheli, Mohammad Yahya and Mohammad Yaseen.
The court, on Aug 20, recorded the statement of a former judicial magistrate, Malir, Qazi Farid Ahmed, as a prosecution witness.In his statement, Qazi Farid Ahmed said that the accused had been produced in his court on July 17, 2002, and had confessed of having committed the crime.
All the accused reportedly belong to the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi. Co-accused Mohammad Jamil, Aamir, Naveedul Hasan and Habib Kamran are still at large.
According to the prosecution, Waseem Akhtar, a Rangers’ inspector, had been tasked with giving information about General Musharraf’s arrival in the city.
Kamran, who had allegedly positioned himself at a petrol station near Star Gate on Sharea Faisal, pushed the remote-control button several times but an explosives-laden vehicle did not blow up.
