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KARACHI, Nov 11: An anti-terrorism court put off on Thursday the hearing of the Haideri mosque bomb blast case against a worker of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi after recording statements of two prosecution witnesses, who were injured in the incident.
Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 put off the hearing till Nov 22 after special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum examined Syed Izhar Hussain and Qamar Abbas.
As many as 26 people were killed and 98 others injured on May 7 when a suicide bomber blew himself inside the Haideri mosque on the premises of Sindh Madressah.
The accused is stated to have been the mastermind of bomb blasts at Haideri Mosque and Imambargah Ali Raza. He is alleged to have planned attacks with absconding accused who included Asif Chutto and Mufti Obaid.
The two prosecution witnesses, who were also cross-examined by defence counsel Mushtaq Ahmed, stated that they were seriously injured in the blast.
PW Syed Izhar Hussain submitted that his right arm was broken and his hair and face were burnt in the blast, which took place around 1:15pm. He said he went unconscious after the blast and regained consciousness at the Liaquat National Hospital where he remained hospitalised for two days.
During the cross-examination, the prosecution witness stated that he did not have his national identity card with him. He also denied a suggestion from the defence counsel to the effect that he was appearing as prosecution witness at the behest of the police as he was not injured in the blast.
PW Qamar Abbas stated that he was standing in the second row of the faithful when a massive blast took place. He said he received injuries in his legs and lower torso. He said he remained in the hospital for 20 days.
He also denied the defence counsel's suggestion that he was deposing on the instructions of the police. He also stated that it was not correct to suggest that he was not injured in the blast.
BLAST CASE: An anti-terrorism court in Karachi, headed by judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi, on Thursday adjourned the hearing of a trial against an activist of the Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Alami, facing charges pertaining to blast in a petrol pump, after deposition of eyewitness.
Kamran alias Atif allegedly indulged in an explosion at Shell petrol pump in Jauharabad on May 15, 2003. He was booked Section 3,4 of the Explosive Act and Section 324 of the PPC.
Eyewitness Mohammad Zada, who identified the accused before magistrate, recorded his statement. During deposition, he, however, stated that earlier he saw the accused in police custody and later identified him before the magistrate. After statement of the witness, defence counsel Nadeem Shahzad Hashmi did not intend to cross-examine the prosecution witness.
The judge, who is conducting trial in central jail, fixed Nov 12 for the next hearing. Special Public Prosecutor Abdul Waheed represented the state.-PPI
