KARACHI, June 13: The tribunal investigating the Nishtar Park blast directed two town police officers on Tuesday to investigate ‘the top secret’ information conveyed to it by an under-trial prisoner in writing.

TPOs Sanaullah Abbasi of Saddar and Imran Yaqoob of Clifton were allowed to seek assistance from any department or police official but without revealing the contents of a letter sent by Dr Ghulam Mustafa Ismail, who has been behind bars for 17 years in several cases and is currently lodged in Malir Jail in fraud and passport cases. The TPOs were asked to report only to the tribunal.

Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan again questioned the competence of the prisoner, who variously describes himself as an educationist, criminologist and Islamic scholar, but confirmed that he appeared before Justice Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, who inquired into the custodial death of Hasan Gichki, on April 12 as claimed by him. The AAG said Gichki was lodged in the Central Prison and the witness was imprisoned in Malir Jail and he was only trying to establish his credentials as an expert in criminology. He was involved in over 30 cases. The tribunal, which consists of Justice Rahmat Hussain Jaffery, however, denied him permission to quiz the witness at this stage and before the completion of the inquiry by the TPOs ordered by it on Tuesday.

Special branch SSP for security Mohammad Arif Hanif recorded his evidence in detail and was examined by the tribunal, the AAG and the counsel for Shah Sirajul Haq Qadri of the Pakistan Sunni Movement, Advocate Javed Ahmed Chhatari. He said he was responsible for investigations into subversive activities, security of VVIPs and verification of sensitive information received from various sources. He prepared a contingency plan sent to the high-ups and assigned duties to his subordinates in three shifts in accordance with the plan. He asked special branch inspector M. Iqbal to carry out checking of the procession route and the venue of the public meeting at Nishtar Park for explosives.

He said he was driving on Kashmir Road about three kilometres from Nishtar Park when he heard the sound of explosion. The statement impliedly contradicted the deposition of special branch ASI Tariq Hameed that the blast report could not be heard outside the park boundary. He also received information of the blast on the phone and decided to proceed to the venue. He left his car at the Quaid-i-Azam’s mazaar and walked his way to the park. He reached the park at about 8.40pm and made inquiries, returning to his office at about 10.40pm.

Replying to a question why ‘walk through security gates’ were not installed at the park, the SSP said only one person could enter a security door at a time. It is extremely difficult to queue up a mob when every processionist wants to storm into a venue at the same time.

Replying to another question, he said he sends a weekly report about the security situation to DIG Wajid Durrani but could not specify the day when he despatched such a report before the occurrence. The provincial police officer’s instructions were received by him on April 8 after the finalisation and dispatch of his own contingency plan. The bomb disposal squad was posted along the procession route and at Nishtar Park in the light of threats mentioned in the contingency plan.

The SSP conceded that he had no training in bomb disposal. Asked why the Jamshed Town TPO told him to ‘sweep’ the stage for explosives at 3.45pm when the stage had already been checked and handed over to the organizers at 1.45pm, he said the TPO did not know that the bomb disposal squad had already done the necessary ‘sweeping’. The bomb disposal outfit has only one explosives ordnance suit or protective dress worn at the time of defusing a bomb about to explode. The dress was ‘too heavy and warm’ to be used in the Karachi weather. He agreed that the bomb disposal squad must always carry an ordnance suit. About ‘the suppression blankets’, he said they were also available.

“I am not a technical expert”, the SSP replied when persistently questioned by Advocate Chhatari about details of the various devices used by bomb disposal units the world over. He said retired armymen conversant with disposal techniques were employed by the special branch. He said he did not know the difference between model 4 and model 6 of GVD, a gravity detector.

The tribunal said he should have expressed his lack of knowledge and training. The AAG said he would produce a bomb disposal expert as a witness of technical matters. The stage was surrounded by volunteers, he said when asked why the bomb detection exercise was undertaken so early in the day (at about 1.45pm) when the meeting was to be held late in the evening.

A place, he said, must be empty at the time of its ‘sweeping’ by the detectors. Another check was conducted later at about 3.45pm following the TPO’s phone but it was confined only to cars and vehicles which entered the venue after the handing over of the stage to the organizers or their volunteers. He said he had seen a ‘mine detector’ but was not aware whether it had any accessories.

Advocate Chhatari said there were SSPs trained in bomb disposal but they had been appointed TPOs while an untrained officer headed a highly technical unit.

A sub-inspector earlier told the tribunal that the first procession entered the park at 5.30pm followed by Hafiz Mohammad Taqi, Hanif Blue and others. Naats were recited and speeches made before the main procession led by Shah Turabul Haq Qadri entered the venue. Shah Turab announced that the public meeting would continue after the Maghreb prayers but a massive explosion occurred before the congregation was over. He heard the sound and saw thick black smoke over the stage. Police and the Rangers had to flee the venue as the participants turned violent and started raising slogans and pelting stones. No police help could be made available to put the dead and the injured into ambulances. He also left the venue hurriedly when some people spotted him in the crowd.