KARACHI, Sept 8: An anti-terrorism court put off on Monday hearing of a case pertaining to a conspiracy to kill President Pervez Musharraf after the statement of last of the five accused.
Judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi of the ATC-1, who is conducting the trial inside the Central Prison, fixed Sept 12 for the next hearing after a statement by Mohammed Ashraf, finance secretary of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi.
Aalmi chief Mohammed Imran, his deputy Mohammed Hanif, finance secretary Mohammed Ashraf, and workers Waseem Akhtar and Sharib, have been charged with hatching a conspiracy to blow up the president’s motorcade within the limits of Airport police.
The judge will also hear arguments by the prosecution and the defence on an application for summoning President Musharraf and four others as witnesses in the court.
The application was filed by Abdul Wahid Katpur, counsel for accused Hanif.
According to the charge-sheet, the prosecution has cited nine prosecution witnesses and shown Habibullah Khattak, Mohammed Jamil, Mohammed Aamir and Kamran as absconders.
It was alleged that accused Imran, Hanif and Waseem Akhtar, a rangers inspector, allegedly confessed to have made an abortive attempt on the life of the president in last April.
Accused Habibullah Khattak, who was given Rs400,000 by the Aalmi leaders, allegedly brought explosives and other weapons in a truck from the upcountry.
It was alleged that accused Jamil was allegedly given Rs85,000 for purchasing a Suzuki pick-up, which was laden with the explosives. The vehicle was parked near a shop at the Falak Naz Arcade, and accused Kamran had the remote control to blow up the explosives.
According to prosecution, accused Kamran, who had positioned himself at a petrol pump near Star Gate on the Sharea Faisal, pushed the remote control button several times but the vehicle did not blow up.
The accused had allegedly rented out the shop in a fake name and accused Aamir used to sit in it.
According to the charge-sheet, accused Sharib had stuffed the vehicle with the explosives, and accused Naveed and Jamil allegedly assembled the explosive devise and its remote control.
The ranger inspector allegedly had passed on the information regarding the arrival of the president, and accused Mohammed Hanif, Imran, Jamil, Naveed, Aamir and Sharib had positioned themselves near the Awami Markaz to ascertain if the president’s motorcade had blown up.
According to the prosecution, the Aalmi leaders, during interrogation, revealed that they wanted to kill President Musharraf for his anti-Taliban and pro-US policies.
The Aalmi chief, his deputy were earlier on April 14 sentenced to death and two other party workers, including Sharib, to life terms by the same ATC for killing 12 people and injuring 43 others in a car bomb attack on the US Consulate last year.