KARACHI, April 4: Non-bailable warrants of arrest have been issued against Maulana Hasan Turabi, Mirza Yousuf Hussain and five others of the banned Tehrik Nifaz Fiqah-i-Jaffaria for April 24 by an anti-terrorism appellate bench of the Sindh High Court.

The orders were issued on Friday during the hearing of an appeal filed by the state against the acquittal of Qasim Zaidi and Hasan Ali, who were tried and acquitted by the court, and other accused Asif Naqvi alias Asif Qureshi, Mohsin alias Guddo, Yawar Maulana Hasan Turabi and Mirza Yousuf Hussain.

The accused were booked by SITE police on a complaint lodged by Mohammed Ilyas, president of the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, Karachi division.

According to the FIR, on Oct 20, 2000, workers and supporters of the party were returning after attending the Haq Nawaz Jhangvi Conference when their vehicle was attacked by un-identified gunmen at the Lakhani Chowk.

Mohammed Iqbal and Abdullah sustained serious bullet wounds and died in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital while nine others received injuries and were treated and discharged from the hospital.

Police later arrested Qasim Zaidi and Hasan Ali while others were declared absconders.

The accused were tried and exonerated of charges by an ATC for Karachi division against which the state preferred an instant appeal.

When the appeal came up for hearing on Friday, the bench admitting the appeal ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants against the accused for April 24.

The same bench also issued notices to the respondents Khalid Jamil, Haji M. Iqbal, Mohammed Iqbal and Pir Buksh, challenging their acquittal in the kidnapping of two Chinese nationals, Mr Wang and his son JoJo.

The accused were booked on an FIR lodged by Ms Wang. They were tried and acquitted by the ATC-II, Karachi division, as the accused and the complainant had a dispute over money worth US$59000 in a business transaction pertaining to export of cotton yarn.

The same bench also admitted another appeal filed by the state through the advocate-general Sindh against acquittal of accused Ustad Hazrat Nabi by the ATC-II.

NOTICES ISSUED: A division bench of Sindh High Court on Friday issued notices to the AG Sindh, the IGP Sindh and the SHO of Quaidabad for April 7 on a petition filed by Saif bin Ali in which he challenged the detention of his son by the police.