MULTAN, April 1 The Anti-Terrorism Court No 2 on Wednesday acquitted Malik Ishaq, leader of a banned outfit, of abetment in a bomb blast that left three policemen dead and ATC No 1 judge Chaudhry Bashir Ahmad Bhatti injured in 2007.

The ATC-2 judge, Ameer Muhammad Khan, also issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of main accused Hafiz Yasin. He had already been declared a proclaimed offender on March 24 hearing when the charges were framed against the accused.

Malik Ishaq filed an application for his acquittal after two witnesses -- Irfan Rasheed and Abdul Hameed -- turned hostile. He was in jail at the time of the blast.

The Chelyak police had registered a case against Malik Ishaq and Hafiz Yasin on the charge that the former had asked some visitor who had come to meet him in jail to ask Yasin to kill the judge, according to the prosecution.

On March 2, 2007, ATC-1 Judge Bashir Ahmad Bhatti was going towards the court along with the security men when a bicycle bomb went off as his car reached Kutchery Chowk.

The blast left police head-constable Ijaz Ahmad, constable Munir Ahmad and driver Muhammad Iqbal dead and the ATC-1 judge and three other constables injured.—APP