RAWALPINDI, Jan 29: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday handed down death sentence on 69 counts to Hameedullah Khan who was arrested with a suicide jacket soon after the two suicide blasts outside Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF) Wah, killing 69 factory workers in 2008.
Special Judge Anti-Terrorism Court-II Raja Ikhlaq Ahmed convicted Hameedullah Khan as he was a member of the four suicide bombers team that carried out two blasts outside the Pakistan Ordinance Factories gate on August 21, 2008 when workers were leaving the factory after their duties, a court official said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs200,000 on 69 counts besides a life-term jail for conspiring to carry out the blasts, 44 counts of 10 years jail term for attempting to kill people, Rs100,000 fine on 35 counts and 10 more years jail for injuring 70 people.
The court in the same case declared another accused as proclaimed offender because Maqsood Ahmed did not appear in the court after he obtained bail in the case.
His lawyer had filed an application in the court saying Maqsood had once again been picked up by intelligence agencies.
Hameedullah was arrested from a nearby mosque soon after the bombings as he somehow could not blast himself and a suicide vest was recovered from him, the investigators informed the court.
Wah police registered a criminal case against the unknown persons under sections 302 (murder), 324 (attempted murder), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with an intent to cause damage), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with an intent to destroy house, etc) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), sections 3 and 4 of explosive act and section 7 of terrorism act.
The bombers that carried out the suicide attacks were identified as Murad and Sowrat Khan and the fourth would-be bomber was Bakhtiar as revealed by Hameedullah during the investigation.
