Data Darbar bombing facilitator sentenced to death by Lahore ATC

Published November 28, 2019
A police vehicle badly damaged in the blast near Data Darbar in Lahore on May 8. — Photo courtesy Punjab Police/File
A police vehicle badly damaged in the blast near Data Darbar in Lahore on May 8. — Photo courtesy Punjab Police/File

An antiterrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Thursday convicted and sentenced to death the facilitator of the Data Darbar suicide bombing on May 8 that had left 12 people, including five Elite Force personnel, dead.

The convict, Mohsin Khan, was sentenced to death on 22 counts — 11 under the Pakistan Penal Code and 11 under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) — and to life imprisonment under the Explosive Substance Act.

Additionally, the convict has been ordered to pay compensation "at the rate of Rs0.4 million per murder" to the heirs of the deceased and Rs50,000 to each of the injured in the attack.

The case was registered on a complaint of the counterterrorism department. During today's hearing, the court ruled that the convict's crime had been proven by the prosecution.

According to prosecutor Abdul Rauf Wattoo, Mohsin and the suicide bomber had entered Pakistan from Afghanistan through Torkham on May 6. "Both belonged to a banned outfit," the prosecutor told the court.

He said that explosive material was found in the convict's possession when he was captured.

Retracing the events of the bombing, the prosecutor said that on May 8, at around 8:45am, the bomber had blown himself up near gate 2 of the Data Darbar shrine, near a vehicle of the Elite Force. "Eleven people, including security personnel, had been killed, and 30 had been left injured," he said.

The prosecutor said that Mohsin hails from Shabqadar tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Charsadda district.

Both the facilitator and the bomber had arrived in Lahore on May 8 and had acquired residence near the shrine.

Mohsin was arrested by the CTD on May 21. He is being held in Lahore's Central Jail.

His death sentence "shall not be executed till its confirmation by the Lahore High Court", according to the ATC judgment.

Opinion

Editorial

X post facto
Updated 19 Apr, 2024

X post facto

Our decision-makers should realise the harm they are causing.
Insufficient inquiry
19 Apr, 2024

Insufficient inquiry

UNLESS the state is honest about the mistakes its functionaries have made, we will be doomed to repeat our follies....
Melting glaciers
19 Apr, 2024

Melting glaciers

AFTER several rain-related deaths in KP in recent days, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority has sprung into...
IMF’s projections
Updated 18 Apr, 2024

IMF’s projections

The problems are well-known and the country is aware of what is needed to stabilise the economy; the challenge is follow-through and implementation.
Hepatitis crisis
18 Apr, 2024

Hepatitis crisis

THE sheer scale of the crisis is staggering. A new WHO report flags Pakistan as the country with the highest number...
Never-ending suffering
18 Apr, 2024

Never-ending suffering

OVER the weekend, the world witnessed an intense spectacle when Iran launched its drone-and-missile barrage against...