KARACHI, April 15 Three prosecution witnesses including the first investigation officer (now an SP) in the Mir Murtaza Bhutto murder case recorded their statements before the additional district and sessions judge (east) on Wednesday.

The witness - Khurram Waris, Mushtaq Ahmed and Farid Ahmed - appeared in court and testified.

SP Khurram Waris, who was the first investigation officer of the case and then a sub-inspector, testified that he shifted the wounded persons to hospital and collected the weapons and others articles from the scene of crime and took them into custody.

The second witness, Mushtaq Ahmed, said in his statement that he was then working as an assistant sub-inspector in traffic police and was deputed near the Clifton area when the incident occurred.

The third witness of the day, then ASI Farid Ahmed, said that he was posted at the Chakiwara police station and handed over an armoured personnel carrier to the then SHO of the Clifton police station.

Another prosecution witness, DIG A.D. Khawaja, who was then working as an SSP, did not appear in court on Wednesday and his counsel requested the court to condone his absence. The hearing was adjourned till April 18 when the special public prosecutor, Mazhar Qayyum, would examine more prosecution witnesses.

Mir Murtaza Bhutto, the chief of Shaheed Bhutto faction of the Pakistan People's Party, his close aide Ashique Jatoi, and his six comrades were shot dead in an alleged police encounter near his Clifton residence on Sept 20, 1996.

Shoaib Suddle, Wajid Durrani, Masood Sharif, Shahid Hayat, Rai Mohammed Tahir, Shabbir Ahmed Qaimkhani, Agha Mohammed Jameel and other policemen are facing trial in the case. President Asif Ali Zardari was also one of the accused in the case but the court acquitted him for want of evidence.

Indian fishermen sent to jail

The civil judge and judicial magistrate (west) remanded 20 Indian fishermen in judicial custody for 14 days for fishing illegally in Pakistani waters.

According to the prosecution, the Maritime Security Agency had detained the Indian fishermen along with their four fishing boats on the night of April 13 for fishing illegally inside the Exclusive Economic Zone of Pakistan.

A case was registered against the fishermen under Sections 3/4 and 3/9 of the Fishery Act at the Docks police station.

Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate (Malir) remanded five suspected militants of banned outfits in police custody till April 21. The police requested the court to extend their physical remand.

The CID police arrested the suspects - Mohammed Akbar alias Ibrahim, Sarfaraz alias Asadullah, Farid Ahmed alias Furqan, Faisal Sheikh alias Kamran and Dur Mohammad Baloch alias Bilal - in the limits of the Sohrab Goth police station on April 8 and claimed that they belonged to banned militants outfits and were involved in attacks on Nato supplies in Waziristan.

It was also claimed that they were planning to attack army and police installations in the city. The police said that a large quantity of arms and ammunition, hashish and stolen vehicles were recovered from their possession.