0
KARACHI, March 10: The proceedings of the Frenchmen’s killing case have come to a halt as the home department has not yet issued a notification for the jail trial of the two accused in the case.
Judge Feroz Mehmood Bhatti of the ATC-2 has put off the hearing of the case because the jail authorities informed the court that a notification by the home department is still awaited.
Mohammed Asif Zaheer and Rizwanullah, who were allegedly trained in a camp belonging to the Harkatul Jihad-i-Islami in Afghanistan, are facing charges of killing 11 French naval engineers and two Pakistanis in a suicide bomb attack last year. The two were arrested in December.
Earlier on March 5, the jail authorities did not produce the accused on similar grounds.
The authorities had moved the home department for the jail trial of the accused as their appearance in an open court could be a security risk.
The French engineers, who were helping Pakistan build the Agosta 90-B submarine, were killed when an explosive-laden vehicle rammed into their bus outside the Sheraton hotel.
The bus of the Pak Navy, carrying the French engineers, was about to move in front of the hotel on Club Road in the morning when a car stopped near the bus and blew up with a bang, also destroying the bus completely and causing damage to the shops located at the ground floor of the Pearl Continental and the Sheraton hotels.
The judge, who fixed March 17 for formally indicting the two accused in the case, also ordered accused Rizwan to engage a lawyer for his defence and ensure his presence on the next date, otherwise, the court would order appointment of a counsel for him on state expenses.
Accused Asif Zaheer is being represented by M. R. Syed and special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum is appearing on behalf of the state.
The home department had notified the jail trial of the accused, belonging to the banned sectarian and Jihadi groups, in as many as 30 cases. The accused in these cases include self-styled chiefs of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
While the four ATCs have been assigned the trial of these cases, there are only two courtrooms at the Central Prison. One of the rooms was set up inside the Juvenile Jail.
BLAST CASE: The same court had to put off the hearing of a bomb blast case against a worker of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi due to absence of the defence counsel.
Sabir Waseem has been charged with launching an anti-tank rocket (BM-107) that had pierced through the wall of the Commerce College on the Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road on Nov 23, 2001.
According to bomb disposal squad, the device was an anti-tank rocket, weighing 25 kgs with 10 to 12 kgs of explosive material.
Judge Feroz Mehmood Bhatti of the ATC-2, who is conducting the trial inside the Central Prison, fixed Tuesday for recording the statements of the prosecution witnesses.
According to prosecution, accused Waseem, with his absconding accomplice, Asif Ramzi, reached near the college to fire the rocket to target Americans staying at the second and third floor of the Sheraton Hotel.
It was alleged that the two Aalmi men, carrying the rocket and its locally-made launcher in a kit bag, reached near the hotel on a motorbike around 9:30pm. The two positioned the launcher on the pushcart of a junk vendor. While accused Waseem was still trying to position the launcher to the hotel, the rocket was detonated due to a short-circuit and hit the wall of the college. It landed in a classroom making an eight-inch hole in the wall.
