November 23, 2008	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 24, 1429

RAWALPINDI, Nov 22: An anti-terror court on Saturday indicted five people for the assassination of PPP chief Benazir Bhutto.

Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman, who had been conducting the trial in Adiala jail, indicted Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Abdul Rasheed, Rafaqat Hussain and Hasnain Gul for killing, hatching criminal conspiracy to kill, abetting the perpetrators, using illegal explosive material and spreading terrorism on Dec 27 last year when 22 people, including Ms Bhutto, were killed in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty and said they would face the trial, although they had already confessed before a judicial magistrate to having knowledge of the plot to kill Ms Bhutto and helping the suicide bomber.

The court will now summon prosecution witnesses on Nov 29 to record their statements.

Nasir Ahmed Tanoli, a lawyer of the accused, told Dawn that the verdict was “unlawful and beyond understating” because investigators had only charged the men with criminal conspiracy, abetment, concealing the plot and terrorism in the charge-sheet.

He said he would challenge the ATC decision because the accused could be indicted for the charges levelled against them by the city police. He said the trial of Aitzaz Shah should be held separately because he had been declared a “juvenile offender” after a medical examination.

The court separately indicted two accused, Rafaqat and Hasnain, for providing lodgings and facilitating suicide bombers who struck at the R.A. Bazaar in September last year and the Golf Club in October this year. The accused pleaded not guilty.

The court also indicted five accused _ Said Arab, Tehseen Ullah, Gul Roze, Mohammad Shafique and Abdul Rasheed _ for firing four rockets at the Kamra Aeronautical Complex in Attock in January this year. The accused pleaded not guilty.