RAWALPINDI, Oct 11: An anti-terrorism court here on Saturday put off the hearing of Benazir Bhutto murder case till October 25 due to indisposition of the prosecution lawyer.

ATC-I Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman, who has been conducting the trial against five accused - Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Rafaqat, Hasnain Gul and Abdul Rasheed - in the Adiala Jail, decided to adjourn the hearing after receiving an application by Sardar Mohammad Ishaq Advocate.

Meanwhile, the prosecution lawyer has also sent an application to the Punjab home secretary seeking the conduct of the trial in the anti-terrorism court instead of Adiala jail due to security reasons.

He said the decision to conduct the trial in the prison had been taken by the government ignoring security threat to the lawyers and the judge. However, no reply has been received by the provincial government.

Separately in the case, the relatives of the accused met them in the jail after permission was granted by the home department.

The provincial government said the blood relatives of the accused could meet them after every fortnight.

Ms Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack on his rally at Liaquat Bagh on December 27. The five accused have been arrested for their alleged role in planning the attack and helping and facilitating the suicide bomber.

The court has already declared outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud and six others as proclaimed offenders in the case. Aitzaz Shah, one of the arrested accused, has been declared a juvenile and is being tried separately.

Meanwhile, a civil judge adjourned hearing till October 17 in a suit filed by Pakistan People’s Movement seeking a site in Liaquat Bagh to build a monument in memory of the slain PPP leader.

According to a PPM press release, Civil Judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan deferred the hearing after the court was informed that the district and Rawal town nazims were politically associated with the previous government and averse to providing the site for the monument.