KARACHI: An antiterrorism court declared on Monday the chief of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Mullah Fazlullah, its former spokesman and others proclaimed offenders in the Karachi airport attack case.

Three suspects — Sarmad Siddiqui, Asif Zaheer and Nadeem alias Burger alias Mullah — were arrested in October 2014 for allegedly providing logistic support, funds and weapons to around 10 attackers who stormed Karachi airport in June last year and were killed in a swift operation.

On a previous hearing, the court asked the investigation officer to initiate the proceedings against TTP chief Fazlullah, then spokesman Shahidullah Shahid and six other absconders under Sections 87 (proclamation for persons absconding) and 88 (attachment of property of person absconding) of the criminal procedure code after the police informed the court that they remained unable to arrest the absconders.

The IO submitted the reports about proclamation and attachment of property in court and after recording his statement, Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of the ATC-I declared all the absconders proclaimed offenders.

Meanwhile, copies were provided to the detained suspects under Section 265-C (supply of statements and documents to the accused) of the CrPC and the court set Jan 31 for their indictment.

The police had charge-sheeted the three suspects and shown Fazlullah and Shahidullah Shahid, who were nominated in the FIR after the banned TTP claimed responsibility for the attack, Malik Mumtaz Awan, Asim Sharif, Abdul Rasheed Siddiqui, Akhtar alias Plumber, Iqbal alias Thekedar, and Abdullah Baloch as absconders in the case.

According to the prosecution, around 10 militants stormed Karachi airport on the night of June 8 and were killed by army commandos and personnel of other security forces during an operation lasting about five hours.

Around 25 people, including personnel of the Airport Security Force, police and Rangers were also killed, it added. The police claimed that the detained suspects belonged to Al Qaeda and the TTP.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2015

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