RAWALPINDI, Oct 25: An anti-terrorism court here on Saturday formally indicted six men involved in two suicide attacks in the city in November last year.

In the two attacks, one on an official bus of an intelligence agency on outside Hamza Camp and the other on the main gate of GHQ, 18 people including the two suicide bombers were killed.

However, the accused Shafiqur Rehman a resident of Mardan, Mohammad Mazharul Haq a resident of Islamabad, Niaz Ahmed a resident of Rawalpindi, Syed Abdul Majid, Syed Abdul Saboor and Syed Abdul Basit all three brothers and residents of Lahore pleaded not guilty.

The ATC-II Judge Sakhi Mohammad Kahot indicted them for planning and helping in carrying out the suicide attack on November 24 last year when an explosive laden van hit the bus at the gate of Hamza Camp (Old Ojri Camp) near Faizabad and the other at the same time on the gate of Army general headquarters (GHQ). The hearing was deferred till November 10.

New Town Police produced the accused in the court on Saturday after the court sought the explanation of the SHO and the Superintendent Adiala Jail for not producing the accused on Friday. The accused were brought in tight security.

Police claimed the accused were arrested on July 1 from the back side of Rawalpindi Arts Council building. Three suicide vests were recovered from them. Later during interrogation they were found involved in the two suicide attacks.

According to the prosecution, during the identification parade in the Adiala jail an official of an intelligence establishment recognized the accused and during the subsequent investigation it was learnt that the vehicles used in the twin suicide attacks were purchased by Mazharul Haq from the three brothers of Lahore and handed over the vehicles to the accused Niaz and Shafique.

It was further learnt that Mazhar got registered a criminal case against unknown men for snatching a white Suzuki Carry and a Suzuki Baleno car with Sanda Police Station in Lahore on November 11 last year. But the three brothers were arrested in Rawalpindi on July 1 when he was collecting the remaining amount of Rs400,000 from Mazhar.

Meanwhile, ATC-I Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman who has been conducting jail trial of the accused in four different terrorism cases distributed the copies of police charge sheet against them and put off the hearing till November 5.

Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Abdul Rasheed, Rafaqat and Hasnain Gul are accused of hiding information about and helping the alleged killers who assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in a gun and bomb attack on December 27 last year when she was leaving Liaqat Bagh after addressing an election rally.