HARIPUR: The Anti-Terrorism Court Hazara here on Thursday awarded death sentence to two men after convicting them for planning the July 14, 2021, suicide attack on the bus of Chinese engineers in Kohistan. Four co-accused were acquitted, however.

ATC Hazara judge Sajjad Ahmad Jan announced judgement in the case in the Haripur prison in the presence of the accused, jail officials said.

Mohammad Hussain and Mohammad Ayaz of Matta tehsil in Swat district were convicted for planning the bus bombing, which killed 13 people, including nine Chinese workers, and injured over 23 passengers.

The Chinese and Pakistani nationals worked on the Dasu hydropower project in Upper Kohistan district.

After the completion of interrogation by police, the ATC had ordered the shifting of the accused to the Haripur Central Jail where they’re tried by the judge via a video link.

The prosecution team comprised regional director (prosecution) Saqib Sultan Jadoon, Irshad Ahmad Afridi and Mohammad Arif Masood, while lawyer Fazlullah Khan defended the accused in the court.

Mr Fazlullah said he hadn’t received the copy of the judgement, so he didn’t know about fine imposed on the convicts and the sentences awarded to the five absconders.

The prosecution’s records showed that a car carrying 100-120kg explosives hit the bus, while the bomber’s body parts suggested that he was not a Pakistani national.

The then foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, had said that the bombing was carried out by Pakistani Taliban militants backed by the Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies and that Afghan soil was used for its planning and execution.

FOUR INJURED IN ACCIDENT: Four people were injured in a road accident on the Hazara Motorway near Kotnajibullah Interchange early on Thursday.

The police said a speeding car fell into a gorge after breaking the motorway’s fence injuring all four friends on board.

The car was bound for Abbottabad from Islamabad.

The rescue workers shifted the injured to the Haripur Trauma Centre.

The doctors referred them to the Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad, where the condition of two was stated to be critical.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2022