KARACHI, May 20: Prosecution prayed to an anti-terrorism court on Friday for death penalty to the accused in the bomb blast cases of Haideri mosque and Imambargah Ali Raza. The defence, however, pleaded to the court to acquit his client as the cases of the prosecution were ‘full of contradictions’.

Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 reserved the judgements in the two cases till May 28 after he heard final arguments from special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum and defence counsel Mushtaq Ahmed.

Gul Hasan, an alleged activist of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, has been prosecuted for masterminding the blasts at the two mosques, belonging to the Shia sect.

As many as 26 people were killed and 98 others injured on May 7 last year when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the Haideri mosque located in the vicinity of the historic Sindh Madressatul Islam, the Alma Mater of the Quaid-i-Azam.

Another 23 faithful were killed and 37 others injured on May 31 last year when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside Imambargah Ali Raza, located at the Old Numaish.

Accused Gul Hasan, the alleged mastermind of the blasts, was arrested on June 13 within the limits of the Mithadar police. He is stated to have planned the attacks with some absconding accused, including Asif Chhotu and Mufti Obaid.

In Haideri mosque blast case, the prosecution examined 48 witnesses, including three eye-witnesses, who deposed to have seen Gul Hasan handing over a briefcase to the suicide bomber, constable Akbar Khan Niazi.

According to the prosecution witness, head constable Habibullah Khan Niazi, he was posted at the Madressatul Islam on the day of the blast. He said that at around 12:45pm, he had seen a white-coloured car entering into the institution from Shahrah-i-Liaquat side.

He deposed that the car was carrying four people, three of them bearded. He said a motorcycle with a pillion rider also stopped near the car as the four occupants, one of whom in police uniform, came out of the car.

He submitted that Gul Hasan was carrying a brief case which he handed over to the man in police uniform. Later, all of them embraced the constable who then headed towards the Haideri mosque while the three other men entered into the Sunni mosque also located within the Madressah vicinity. At around 1:15pm, he added, the blast occurred.

Head constable Arshad Ali, the second prosecution witness, submitted that he had also been posted at the institution on that day. He gave an account of the incident identical to that of Habibullah Niazi.

The two head constables also placed on record the copy of station diary containing details of their duty and timings on the day the blast occurred.

According to prosecution witness Shabbir Ahmed, a Hyderabad–based cloth merchant, he had seen Gul Hasan hugging the suicide bomber a little before the blast.

He stated that he used to visit Karachi on Thursdays and stay till Friday in connection with his business. He said on the day of the blast, he had gone to the Sunni mosque for Juma prayers at around 12:45pm.

He said he had seen five or six men, including Gul Hasan and a police constable, standing near the Haideri mosque. He said Gul Hasan hugged the policeman carrying a briefcase in his hands. The policeman, he added, went into the Haideri mosque.

The prosecution also produced two eye-witnesses in the Imambargah Ali Raza bomb blast case. One of them, Syed Mujahid Hussain, stated that he had gone to the office of Hermain Travel Agency, located in front of the Imambargah on the day of the blast in connection with the visit to Iran and Iraq by his sister and mother.

He stated that two persons were standing at a distance of four/five steps from him. They embraced each other before one of them, carrying a black bag in his hands, entered into the Imambargah.