March 19, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 10, 1429

RAWALPINDI, March 18: An anti-terrorism court here on Tuesday declared Baitullah Mehsud and four other militants ‘proclaimed offenders’ in a case relating to the assassination of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto after they failed to appear in the court.

Special Judge of ATC-I Chaudhry Habibur Rehman issued the orders under Sections 87 (Proclamation for person absconding) and 88 (Attachment of property of person absconding) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1898 and directed investigators to put up ‘wanted’ posters for Mehsud and Ikramullah, the alleged second would-be suicide bomber, Abadur Rehman, Abdullah alias Saddam and Faiz Mohammad alias Kaskat.

The court was to formally frame charges against the five persons arrested in connection with the case – Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Abdul Rasheed, Hassnain Gul and Muhammad Rafaqat – but the hearing was adjourned till April 21 because of the absence of prosecution lawyers. The first three men are accused of concealing the conspiracy to kill Ms Bhutto and the other two of helping the suicide bomber.

Meanwhile, Aitzaz’s lawyer filed an application under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance of 2000 demanding his separate trial because he was under 18 years of age at the time of his arrest. According to his birth certificate, he was born on April 19, 1992, in Karachi.

Lawyer of accused Sher Zaman filed a bail plea, saying no incriminating evidence had been produced against his client and the confessional statement of Aitzaz had been recorded under duress. Aitzaz had said that Sher Zaman was handling him as a suicide bomber on behalf of Baitullah Mehsud.

According to the bail application, Sher Zaman, a native of South Waziristan, was arrested from his house in Dera Ismail Khan on Jan 18 and not along with Aitzaz as claimed by police.Interestingly, the petitioner has included the name of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the list of respondents while the complainant in the December 27 case was a local SHO.

Hearing in cases related to suicide blasts in R.A. Bazaar and the on a road leading to the Army House was adjourned till April 1.

Mohammad Rafaqat and Hasnain are also involved in the two cases and are in Adiala Jail on judicial remand. Police charge-sheet is awaited in the cases.