May 11, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 5, 1429

RAWALPINDI, May 10: An anti-terrorism court here on Saturday directed the medical superintendent of District Headquarters Hospital to constitute a medical board to determine the age of Aitzaz Shah, an accused in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The directives of the ATC 1 Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman came on the request of Special Public Prosecutor Sardar Ishaq. The lawyer of Aitzaz Hussain Sherazi had filed an application under Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 demanding separate trial of the accused saying he was under 18 years of age at the time of his arrest. According to the birth certificate of the accused, he was born on April 19, 1992 and his birth was registered with the municipal corporation Karachi West.

The prosecutor’s lawyer argued that only documentary evidence was not sufficient to establish the age of the accused and demanded an ossification test to specify the age of the accused. The judge sought the report of the test on May 31. He also put off the hearing of bail applications of two other accused - Sher Zaman and Abdul Rasheed - in the case.

Charges could not be framed formally against the five arrested accused - Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Abdul Rasheed, Mohammad Rafaqat and Hasnain Gul. Five other accused - Baitullah Mehsud, Ikramullah, Abdur Rehman, Abdullah alias Saddam and Faiz Mohammad alias Kaskat - have been declared proclaimed offenders in the case. These accused are charged with involvement in the gun-and-bomb attack on Ms Bhutto on December 27.

Rafaqat and Hasnain are also allegedly involved in two other suicide attacks, one in RA Bazaar and the other in Civil Limes police area last year. The police failed on Saturday to present the challan against them in the two cases and the judge adjourned the hearing till Nay 31.

Meanwhile, the judge acquitted eight men in a terrorism case due to lack of evidence against them. Salimullah Salfy, Mohammad Sheraz, Hassan Majeed, Abu Bakar, Zahid Mehmood, Mohammad Hasnain, Ijaz Hussain and Mohammad Arsalan were arrested on September 30, 2007 from a house in a far-off village of Rajar in the jurisdiction of the Chontra police.

Police claimed to have recovered a laptop computer with some hard disks and two 30-bore pistols with 26 live bullets from their possession and charged them with terrorism, criminal activities under the umbrella of banned religious outfits.