KARACHI, July 19: While two suspects arrested for their alleged involvement in a bomb attack on the motorcade of the senior puisne judge of the Sindh High Court made a 'confessional' statement at a press conference held at the office of the DIG South in the early hours of Friday, their family termed it a police move to cover up the 'extrajudicial killing' of the alleged mastermind Bashir Leghari.

In an unusual manner, the police held a news conference after 3am on Friday to show the suspects — Abu Bakar alias Masoom Billa and Muavia Leghari (a son of Bashir Leghari) — who claimed that the elder Leghari masterminded the June 26 attack on Justice Maqbool Baqar that left him wounded and his driver and eight police guards dead.

Police authorities did not explain any reasons behind the holding of the press conference in haste.

The faces of the two suspects were muffled.

Suspect Billa told newsmen that he carried out the attack on Justice Baqar’s convoy and it was Bashir Leghari who planned it. “For that purpose we snatched a motorbike from Khuda Ki Basti in Surjani Town. Then it (bike) was prepared for the explosion at Bashir Leghari’s house. We filled explosives in the fuel tank, lights, space along wheels and silencer. It was all done under the supervision of Bashir Leghari.”

“We brought the explosives-laden motorbike to the place where we wanted to place it to target Justice Baqar,” said Billa. “I was selected for this final job with Yasir alias Moosa through a draw. I was carrying the remote-control and my aide had sent me a signal about the arrival of Justice Baqar’s motorcade. As it reached close to the parked bike, I pressed the button of the remote-control that caused a huge explosion.”

He said he stayed at the blast site for 10 to 15 minutes after the explosion and then ran away. In the evening, he received a text message (Shadi Mubarak or happy wedding) from Bashir Leghari through which he appreciated the job done by him.

On July 17, the police had arrested Bashir Leghari, Muavia Leghari and another suspect, Qari Amin, in Surjani Town after an encounter in which the elder Leghari sustained bullet wounds.

He died later at a hospital. Suspect Billa was arrested in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

The family of the 60-year-old suspect termed the incident an act of extrajudicial killing by the police and said that the raid was carried out when they were having Sehri for fasting.

They insisted that the police were ‘staging dramas’ to cover up the ‘extrajudicial killing’.

“We have not yet buried our father in protest,” said Ahmed Leghari, the elder son of Bashir Leghair. “Area people may testify to the integrity of my father and brother. In one of the live television programmes on Thursday, the SHO of the Surjani Town police station said that my father was summoned to the police station and he had voluntarily appeared before the police…the officer said that he never found him involved in any violent activity.”

He said that his family would lodge a protest against the ‘police terrorism’ if authorities did not respond to their appeals.

He also urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the incident and order a judicial inquiry into the incident.

Two remanded in attack case

An anti-terrorism court on Friday remanded two suspects in police custody for their alleged involvement in a bomb attack on Justice Baqar’s convoy.

Mohammad Muavia Leghari and Masoom alias Billa alias Abu Bakar were produced in court for remand.

The investigation officer said that the suspects would be interrogated and material in respect of their involvement in the case was also to be collected.

The IO requested the court to grant their police remand for 14 days.

Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon of the ATC-III remanded them in police custody for 10 days and directed the IO to complete the investigation and submit a report within the stipulated period.

According to the prosecution, the driver of Justice Baqar and eight police guards were killed in a bomb blast on June 26 on Burnes Road near the SHC. The senior puisne judge also suffered serious wounds in the attack.

A case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 3/4 of the Explosive Substance Act read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the Aram Bagh police station.

The police claimed to have arrested Muavia Leghari and another suspects Qari Amin in Surjani Town on July 17 after an encounter. Muavia’s father Bashir Leghari, who alleged to be the prime suspect, was wounded in the shoot-out and died later at a hospital.

On July 18, a judicial magistrate had remanded Muavia and Qari Amin in police custody in illicit weapons and attempted murder cases till July 25.