KARACHI, June 10: The Nishtar Park blast inquiry tribunal was urged on Saturday to examine whether ‘something thrown from the stage’ caused the explosion.

Maulana Mohammad Asghar Dars, chief of the Markazi Ahle Sunnat, who takes out a procession on the sidelines of the main procession on Eid-i-Miladun Nabi, said he was told by Qari Abdur Rehman, who was present at the stage, that some object went up from the stage, exploded in the air and fell down on the stage. In a lengthy deposition before the tribunal, the maulana said, without giving details or particulars, that the incident was the outcome of a well-prepared conspiracy. He also took it out on the leaders of the main procession. The witness would be cross-examined on June 14.

The tribunal, which consists of Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi of the Sindh High Court, was on Saturday furnished a movie of the QTV ‘naat’ programme held on the night between April 10 and April 11 at the same stage that was later used by the organizers of the Eid congregation. It was also handed over a copy of the Jamshed Town police budget.

The tribunal recorded the statements of Dr Zain Shaikh, SSP, Special Branch, and ASI Tariq Hameed, who prepared a report of the proceedings for the branch. He said he was standing near the park gate at the time of the blast and heard its sound followed by a cloud of smoke above the stage. The sound was not loud enough to be heard outside the park.

An under-trial prisoner, Dr Ghulam Mustafa Ismail, was brought from the Malir jail to testify. He said he was assistant professor in the Sindh University’s institute of education and research and ‘deputed to the ministry of fuel and power’ in 1978. He was sent to jail in 1986 for fuel theft at Naushki, Balochistan. He obtained bail and proceeded to Beirut (Lebanon) where he received a PhD on ‘education and teaching in Arabic language’. He was detained on his return under the Passport Act and later also charged in a fraud case. He had been behind bars for 17 years in different cases.

He said he acquired some information about the incident in the jail and during his appearance as a witness in Hasan Gichki’s custodial killing before Justice Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery. Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan questioned his competence and said he was only taking (undue) advantage of the proceedings. According to the jail register, he came to the city courts and not the high court for trial before a sessions court. The tribunal asked the AAG to verify Dr Ismail’s claim from Justice Jaffery’s record and produce him again on June 13.

Maulana Dars said his procession, taken out from MW Tower, did not proceed to Nishtar Park and wound its way from Tibet Centre. He said he was prodded by police to expedite the movement of his rally to make way for the main procession and was also subjected to a mild baton-charge at Arambagh. The witness raised more questions than answered by his statement and suggested a number of issues for the tribunal to look into.

He produced a newspaper carrying the picture of the late Hafiz Mohammad Taqi and said his death could not be attributed to blast. He also urged the tribunal to investigate the contradictory statements of Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui about a meeting with him and the organizers of the main procession and the CCPO’s statement that the alleged suicide bomber joined the main procession at Boulton Market. As early as March 22, there was a rumour that Maulana Abbas Qadri had been shot dead. Whether any civil military authority inquired into the rumour? He asked and urged the tribunal to find an answer.

Another important question, according to him, was why Shah Turabul Haq Qadri was the first to address the public meeting at the Nishtar Park when the most prominent leader usually speaks at the end. And why he chose to lead the prayers on the ground when prayers were already being offered at the stage by Maulana Abdul Wahab. He also questioned the burial of three Sunni Tehrik leaders at the Eidgah graveyard. Can some one be buried at the Quaid-i-Azam’s mazar only because he desired so in his will? he asked.

SSP Zain Shaikh presented a copy of a contingency plan prepared by the special branch for the Nishtar Park meeting. He said he had deputed four special branch officials to cover the function. He visited the park at about 4.30pm. After receiving information about the blast, he decided to visit the park but turned away from Abdullah Haroon Road when told that the participants were resorting to violence.

He did not agree with Advocate Javed Ahmed Chhatari, counsel for the Pakistan Sunni Movement, that under Article 155 © of the Police Order, 2002, it was an offence for a police officer to flee the scene of occurrence ‘out of fear’. The lawyer said the SSP not being a field officer was not recognizable by the public and he was not in uniform like other officers who had to disappear.

ASI Tariq Hameed said he prepared the report of the meeting and conveyed it in instalments on phone from public call offices at about 10.30am. He was checking his report on a raised platform near the main gate of the park when the blast occurred. He came out of the park and informed the SSP of the occurrence after a few minutes.