KARACHI, July 8: Three activists of Harkatul Mujahideen Al Aalmi, implicated in bomb blasts outside the US Consulate and Sheraton Hotel and in an attempt to blow up President Pervez Musharraf’s motorcade, were remanded to the police custody till July 20 by the administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts on Monday.

Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Hanif, who were shown arrested at a house in Nazimabad by the Rangers on Sunday, were remanded to the CID custody by Justice Shabbir Ahmed of the Sindh High Court, who is also administrative judge of the ATC.

The third accused, Shaikh Mohammad Ahmed alias Danial, was remanded to the police custody under Section 13E of the Arms Ordinance.

Their arrest and confessional statements have established the involvement of a third vehicle which was used in the suicide attack on the US consulate. While police were of the view that the vehicle of a motor training school was the carrier, the FBI agents had mooted the involvement of a third vehicle believed to be a Suzuki high-roof.

Accused Imran and Hanif, according to the police, were chief and deputy chief of the outfit, respectively. They were booked under Section 302/324/427/109 read with 7(b) of the Anti- Terrorism Act in the FIR No 107/2002.

According to the remand papers, they had confessed their involvement in the suicide bombings. They also confessed that five other of their accomplices, one of whom identified as Mohammad Jameel, had conspired to attack the consulate and kill the Americans.

They confessed to having used the same Suzuki high-roof which they had stuffed with explosive in a bid to blow up Gen Musharraf’s car near the airport on April 26, according to the remand papers.

Later, two of the accused were presented at a press conference in Jinnah Courts.

The Director-General of Rangers in Sindh, Maj-Gen Salahuddin, told reporters that the Rangers had raided the house of Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Hanif in Nazimabad on Sunday, and arrested them following the recovery of a heavy quantity of illegal weapons from their possession.

The DG said the two accused had planned to attack President Musharraf. The two told the investigators that they had parked the Suzuki near the Falak Naz Centre on Sharea Faisal on April 26 when the president was scheduled to go to the Army house from the airport. However, the remote control which they were to use to detonate the device did not work.

The DG said that Inspector Wasim of the Rangers had abetted the accused in their attempt and added that he had also been arrested and was being interrogated.

The DG said that Danial was involved in the incident and added that the same vehicle was also used outside the US consulate blast. He claimed that it was a suicide bombing.

In reply to a question, he avoided to disclose the registration number of the vehicle, saying: “We have all conclusive evidence about the vehicle but we cannot disclose them at this point.” However, he said, the colour of the vehicle was sky-blue.

The DG denied taking any assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the arrests.

He said that the accused’s links with the Al Qaeda had not been established, but added that they did have links with some Arab nationals individually.

About the blast near Sheraton Hotel, Imran told the press that he had opposed the suicide bombing and someone else had done this. “After the incident, my colleagues planned a suicide attack and they arranged a man for the task.

The vehicle was taken via Gulshan-i-Iqbal and I do not know exactly what had happened. I came to know about the blast the next day through newspapers,” he added.

Hanif said the Suzuki was originally purchased for the attack on the United States consulate. However, he added, it was first used to attack the president.

Imran and Hanif also admitted their involvement in various bomb blasts, grenade attacks, firing at police, etc.