KARACHI, Dec 20: Judge Ghulam Ali A. Samtio of the ATC-1 put off hearing of the conspiracy case against three top leaders of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi as the defence lawyer did not turn up.

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 the Airport police in April 2002.

The HMA leaders were, on Oct 18, 2003, sentenced to a 10-year term by the then ATC-1 Judge, Aley Maqbool Rizvi, for hatching a plot to kill President Parvez Musharraf.

However, the Sindh High Court set aside the trial court’s judgment on an appeal by the convicts on November 10 this year. The SHC remanded back the case to the ATC for retrial.

Special Public Prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa said the prosecution had brought its witnesses to the court but the hearing could not be held due to the absence of defence counsel Abdul Waheed Katpar.