26 Shias died in mosque bombing: 98 injured in Karachi
07-5-2004
KARACHI, May 7: Fourteen people were killed and 96 others wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque on the premises of Sindh Madressatul Islam here on Friday, officials said.
Violence broke out in many localities of the city after the blast. Angry protesters set fire to eight vehicles and a petrol pump at and around Numaish intersection.
The blast occurred at about 1:17pm in the sixth row of the faithful, ripping through the 1894-built Hyderi Mosque only moments before the beginning of Zohrain prayers.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf called the attack a 'heinous act of terrorism' and ordered an inquiry. Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali also directed the Sindh government to hold an immediate inquiry into the incident.
Mr Jamali vowed strict punishment of the perpetrators. "Those who committed this cold-blooded murder cannot be termed Muslims as Islam shuns violence," APP quoted him as saying.
The blast was so intense that pieces of flesh flew up to about 22-foot-high ceiling of the mosque and got stuck there. It badly damaged the five doors and left the blades of ceiling fans moulded.
Blood was seen spattered all around and limbs were scattered in and around the mosque. Rescuers collected the body parts and took them to the Civil Hospital. "Ambulances arrived within no time and took the wounded to the Civil Hospital," said a witness.
Over 100 worshippers were in the mosque when the blast occurred, said Hasan who was performing ablution at that time. "I rushed inside the mosque where fixtures were falling, and body parts, shattered windowpanes, etc., were littered all around," he said.
Aftab Shaikh, adviser to Sindh chief minister on home affairs, who visited the mosque soon after the blast, said: "It is an act of terrorism in which 14 people were killed.
The blast is aimed at destabilizing the peace process, investment climate and our efforts to have stable government in Sindh. We condemn it and we will meet this challenge and trace the culprits".
SSP Investigation Manzoor Mughal told Dawn initial finding showed it was a suicide bombing as the blast did not leave any crater on the ground. "The bomber was standing next to a cast-iron pillar. The blast caused the pillar to collapse," he said.
The SSP claimed that the bomber wanted to destroy the two pillars erected in the centre of the 60-foot-long and 35-foot-wide hall. Had both the pillars collapsed, the roof resting on them would have caved in and the casualties would have been much higher, he said.
A senior investigator was of the opinion that the suicide bomber wore beneath his clothes a multiple-pocket vest that carried approximately 2kg of explosive material. Sources at the Civil Hospital said two of the bodies were completely mutilated.
Bones of one body, apparently that of the bomber, were totally crushed, they said. Police believed the second body was of the victim who was standing next to the suicide bomber. The SSP said that Mr Ali Hasan, a regular visitor to the mosque, had told the police that he had been watching a suspicious man who had been coming to the mosque for the past few days.
"He (suspect) had no moustache, but had a light beard," he said. The SSP said that on Thursday Mr Hasan inquired the suspected man about his identity, and he replied: 'Are you stopping me from offering prayers'.
The police have engaged Mr Hasan in preparation of a sketch of the suspect. "At present we suspect the same person as the suicide bomber," the SSP said. According to a press note, the Sindh government announced a compensation of Rs100,000 for the families of each deceased and Rs30,000 for each injured.
Allama Hasan Turabi, who also visited the mosque, condemned the government for its failure to protect the worshippers. He pointed out that despite its 'sensitive' location the mosque had inadequate security.
Refering Site
Mosque blast sparks off widespread violence: Petrol pumps, vehicles torched
07-05-2004
KARACHI, May 7: Violence broke out in different areas of the city following the bomb explosion that left 14 people dead and another 96 injured at a mosque in the compound of Sindh Madressatul Islam on Friday.
Mobs of shocked and angry people set 12 vehicles and 2 petrol pumps on fire at and around Numaish intersection, Malir and Al-Noor Society. A number of other vehicles were damaged after coming under stone pelting by the mobs during the violence in different areas.
According to witnesses, people started assembling at the Imambargah Khurasan, near Purani Numaish intersection. The youth among them appeared enraged and shocked.
Later, people in groups started pelting stones at moving vehicles on the adjacent M. A. Jinnah Road smashing windowpanes and windscreens of many vehicles. The Capri Cinema-Guru Mandir section of the road was blocked due to violence which spread to Soldier Bazaar also.
A petrol station at Purani Numaish was set ablaze as the situation deteriorated. Four cars being filled with fuel there were also set on fire. The mob intercepted another four vehicles in the violence-hit section of the road and torched them, the witnesses said.
Police tossed teargas shells and applied baton-charge to disperse the mobs. A senior police official claimed: "Some of the youths opened fire at the police, but no one was wounded."
Reports of disturbance were also received from Jaffar Tayyar Society in Malir, Rizvia Society in Nazimabad, Ancholi in Federal B Area, and Shah Faisal Colony, where moving vehicles were attacked with stones by youths.
Protesters in Malir blocked the nearby section of the National Highway. They also staged a sit-in on rail tracks causing disruption in rail traffic and disturbing several trains' schedule.
A group of angry people near the Sindh Madressatul Islam started raising slogans against the government, police and Rangers. The vehicles belonging to the DIG Operations and TPO Saddar who happened to be there, were attacked by the charged protesters. However, after deployment of police personnel at the scene, the situation returned to normal. Later, the police officers inspected the scene of the incident.
Shops, markets, offices and other business establishments in Boulten Market, Lighthouse and the adjoining areas were closed immediately after the blast. At civil hospital many blast victims were seen receiving treatment at the emergency ward and several of them, with burns, were lying in corridors.
They had to wait for about half-an-hour before being attended by medical staff there as many other victims with profusely bleeding wounds had been shifted to beds first.
The patients were eventually shifted to Burns, Medical and Orthopaedics wards. Anxious relatives of the blast victims had crowded the emergency ward and were desperately seeking information about the wellbeing of their loved ones.
An unspecified number of patients at the civil hospital were moved by their relatives to private hospitals, including the OMI, Liaquat National Hospital, Aga Khan Hospital and A.O. Clinic.
Most of them appeared to be employees of banks and other financial institutions which have these hospitals on their panel. Amid pathetic scenes at and outside the civil hospital, certain NGOs were make announcements, using megaphones, for blood-donation. Rizwan Edhi, spokesman for the Edhi Foundation, said about 5,000 bottles of blood had been donated at different hospitals.
Refering Site
Mosque blast toll rises to 19 as three more die
13-5-2004
KARACHI, May 13: With three more victims of the Hyderi mosque blast succumbing to their injuries at two private hospitals on Thursday, the death toll in the May 7 tragedy has risen to 19.
Allama Hasan Turabi, a leader of the Tehrik-i-Islami Pakistan, said that Dr Asad Abbas Naqvi and Agha Haider died at the Aga Khan Hospital. The other person, Syed Ali Rizvi, a resident of the Rizvia Society, died at the Patel Hospital.
Allama Turabi said the funeral prayers for the three deceased were held separately and that they were buried in local graveyards. Dr Naqvi was an eye specialist and a resident of Rizvia Society, whereas Agha Haider was the resident of North Karachi.
On Tuesday, one of the blast victims, Sakhawat Ali, died at a private hospital. Another person, Nihal Zaidi, had succumbed to his injuries on the previous day.
Doctors said that one, Sakha Ali, who was also among the 96 people injured in the blast, was in a serious condition and put on a ventilator. The bomb explosion had rocked the Hyderi mosque built inside the compound of the Sindh Madressatul Islam.
Shia scholars stage sit-in at high court
13-5-2004
KARACHI, May 13: Shia scholars on Thursday staged a sit-in at the Sindh High Court against the killing of innocent people. The sit-in was staged under the auspices of the Shia Ulema Council Pakistan (Sindh chapter).
As the Ulema reached the high court premises, they were stopped at the main entrance. However, Ulema managed to enter the premises and went to the office of the chief justice in the high court building.
The protesters, led by Allama Syed Qambar Naqvi, met the principal secretary to the SHC and the registrar of the court. They tried to meet the chief justice, but his protocol staff asked the Ulema that they would have to seek an appointment first.
On this, the Ulema's delegation submitted their memorandum with the registrar of the court. Addressing the gathering inside the court building, Allama Qambar Naqvi said that they were ready to give their blood for the existence of the country.
Allama Hasan Turabi urged the chief justice to implement the punishments awarded to those involved in the killing of Shias. He asked the chief justice to take a suo motu notice of the bomb explosion in Hyderi mosque. Maulana Shabbir Hussain demanded that the government should step down.
Karachi mosque bomber 'identified', both mosques remain closed
14-5-2004
KARACHI, May 14: Police on Friday claimed to have achieved a breakthrough in the investigation into the May 7 Hyderi Mosque bomb explosion which left 19 people dead and 91 injured.
According to well-placed sources, police have succeeded in identifying the suicide bomber and have picked up four suspects belonging to the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan.
The sources said that the man who had blown himself up in the Hyderi Mosque was a worker of the banned militant group. He had taken part in the jihad in Afghanistan and later joined police as a constable. He was identified as Mohammad Akbar.
"We have almost identified this man as the suicide bomber and statements of witnesses also substantiated his presence in the mosque," an investigator told Dawn. The sources said that four of his close associates had been detained for interrogation. The police were also searching for his two associates who had passed out of the Saeedabad police training centre and were posted at different police stations.
Police were also examining the record of the Baghdadi police station which had issued a character certificate to Akbar.
The suspects, according to the sources, said they had joined the police force to get secret information for their group.
The sources said that the investigation advanced swiftly after a policeman's buckle was found in the wreckage on Thursday. The buckle was inscribed with number '8242'. Inquiries revealed that the buckle had been issued to one Akbar, who had joined police as a constable in the year 2002. He was sent for police training in September 2003 to Saeedabad Police Training Centre.
The sources said that Akbar, a resident of Daryabad, Niazi Chowk, in the Baghdadi area of Lyari, had been missing since May 5, from the training centre. His family was contacted and they said that Akbar had gone out on Wednesday (May 5) and had not returned.
The sources said that Akbar was a die-hard worker of the banned group. "Akbar had done his intermediate and it is being investigated that how he was appointed in the police department and whether any inquiry about his character had been undertaken."
"We have obtained samples of Akbar's belongings from his home and these samples along with specimen of the limbs of an unidentified person, were sent for DNA tests. We believe the limbs were of Akbar but things would be clear only after the DNA tests."
The investigators had found two pieces of a burnt police belt and a melted police badge in the wreckage of the Hyderi Mosque and they initially believed that the suicide bomber could have been in a police uniform.
They said that statements of two witnesses, a bank officer and an employee in an insurance company, substantiated the presence of a man in police uniform.
According to the witnesses, the man in police uniform was also carrying a briefcase.
It was for the first time in hundred years or so that the muezzins from minarets of the two mosques on the premises of Sindh Madressatul Islam could not summon the faithful for Friday prayers.
"It was perhaps for the first time in its history that prayers could not be offered in the mosques built in the 19th century," said a frequent visitor to the mosque.
A few people who went to the mosque to offer their prayers returned after seeing the closure notices.
Nineteen people have so far died in the Hyderi Mosque bomb blast that occurred on May 7. As many as 94 people were wounded in the blast.
On May 14, an ad was placed in a local Urdu daily announcing the commencement of prayyers by the mosque management However, the principal of Sindh Madressatul Islam, Mohammad Ali Shaikh, denied the existence of any such mosque management and said that both the mosques came under "our management and we have banned the entry of the outsiders in the premises for time being."
Hyderi Mosque was declared dangerous by the KBCA, he said adding that it will remain closed till KBCA's clearance.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Shia mosque was constructed in 1894 and the Sunni mosque was built in 1893.
Refering Site
Hyderi Mosque bomb blast Baghdadi mosque imam one of suspects
16-5-2004
KARACHI, May 16: Police are conducting raids to arrest a prayer leader of a Baghdadi mosque for being an associate of the alleged perpetrator of the Hyderi mosque bomb blast.
The police have included 11 people in the investigation - four fellow recruits of Mohammad Akbar Niazi, the alleged suicide bomber and a trainee policeman, his father and three brothers.
The police have also questioned the father and two brothers of the absconding prayer leader, Sher Khan, sources told Dawn on Sunday.
One of the investigators said that Akbar Niazi's father, and three brothers told the police, during investigation, that he used to visit Quba mosque at Niazi Chowk, Daryabad, Baghdadi, near his residence. They alleged that the prayer leader of Quba mosque had instigated him to carry out the suicide blast.
"We went to the mosque to question the prayer leader, but found that he was missing from the day of the blast," he added. The police were now interrogating his father and two brothers to extract some information. "We are trying to get information as much as possible about Sher Khan," an investigator added.
The investigators, engaged in the probe, have reached consensus that the suicide bomber was the 'trainee policeman', Akbar Niazi. The sources said that he had joined police in 2002 and was sent for training in Sept 2003 to Saeedabad police training centre.
A senior investigator, seeking anonymity, said: "We have got his photograph from the papers he had provided for legal proceedings during his appointment in the police department.
We took that photograph to the witnesses, who were injured in the explosion and getting treatment at a private hospital. They had earlier indicated the presence of a suspicious man in police uniform."
He said: "We have shown the photograph to the witnesses and they identified him as the policeman who was present in the mosque before the blast. The witnesses said that the policeman had argued when he was asked to go to the adjoining Sunni mosque for he was not carrying 'Khak-i-Shifa'. But, he had asked them if he, being Sunni, could not offer prayer in a Shia mosque on which they kept quiet."
Akbar Niazi got married two years back and was father of a son, Hamza. His wife told the police she was convinced from the day first of her marriage that he had sectarian inclination.
The sources claimed that he was affiliated to the banned religious group - Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan - and had participated in Afghanistan jihad. The police were also examining the record of Baghdadi police station from where he was issued a character certificate. The other suspects had told the interrogators that they had joined the police force to leak out secret information to their group.
An inquiry into the character examination of all recruits, who had been getting training at Saeedabad and Razzakabad training centres, had been launched, the sources said.
Refering Site
Death toll in mosque blast rises to 21
17-5-2004
KARACHI, May 17: Another victim of the Hyderi mosque bomb blast died at a private hospital here on Monday raising the death toll to 21. Ahmer Manzar Abbas, 35, scummed to his injuries in the Liaquat National Hospital on Monday.
He was laid to rest in Wadyi-i-Hussain Graveyard following his funeral prayers offered in Babul Ilam mosque, North Nazimabad.
A resident of Bufferzone, the victim was an employee in the Orix Leasing Company. He left behind a widow, one-year-old child, three sisters and a mother to mourn his death.
Earlier, on May 13, two victims - Dr Asad Abbas Naqvi and Agha Haider - died in Aga Khan Hospital. Another injured, Syed Ali Rizvi, resident of Rizvia Society, admitted to Patel Hospital, also succumbed to his injuries.
On May 12, Sakhawat Ali died at a private hospital. Nihal Zaidi breathed his last on May 11. Another injured, Sakha Ali, succumbed to his wounds on May 9. Fourteen people were killed and 96 others were wounded in a powerful bomb blast at Hyderi Mosque inside the compound of Sindh Madressatul Islam on May 7.
Refering Site
Another Hyderi Mosque injured dies
20-5-2004
KARACHI, May 20: Unlike the bomb blasts in this metropolis over decades, the bomb blast at Hyderi mosque on May 7 resulted in a remarkably high number of burn cases
, doctors and police indicated while analyzing the overall physical impact of the explosion.
They observed that it was this big number of burn cases which was pushing up the death toll with each passing day. Most of the 14 people who were killed in the mosque blast on May 7 had died instantly, but the death toll, which is continuing to rise, has already touched the mark of 22 and doctors fear that the figure may swell further.
"There are several patients with serious burns who are struggling for life in different private hospitals," said one of them. At the Liaquat National Hospital, such patients are Ahsan Abbas Husain and Ahmer Manzer whereas the condition of another four blast victims at the Patel Hospital is no different. Aga Khan Hospital has some more such cases.
The scene of the blast had been examined by explosive experts associated with army and navy, apart from those of the Bomb Disposal Squad of the city police. Though investigators have been waiting for the experts' findings, they believe that the bomb contained local explosives.
The army's team of explosive experts is of the view that the bomb weighed between two and three kilograms, police investigators told Dawn, adding that the suicide bomber might have been carrying the explosives in a briefcase apart from that tied on his body.
While in many incidents of violence, especially sectarian, the attackers had used fire-arms, the Hyderi mosque blast perhaps was the first in which the bomber had blown himself up and also inside a mosque, observed one of the investigators.
The last reported death in the tragedy is of Afsar Abbas, 38, who was under treatment at the Liaquat National Hospital and breathed his last on Thursday evening. He has left behind a widow and three children.
Before him, Ahmer Manzer Abbas who was the sole bread-earner of his family had succumbed at Liaquat National Hospital. He has left behind a widow and a one-year-old son. He also has his mother and three sisters to mourn his death.
Among those under treatment at the Liaquat National Hospital is the 19-year-old Ahsan Naqvi, also the sole bread-earner of his family, who has suffered over 50 per cent burns.
Swathed in bandages with his hairs signed off in the massive bomb explosion, Ahsan has not recovered from the shock and repeatedly asks for cold water. About one year ago, he had lost his father, Shahid Naqvi, in a road accident. Since then, Ahsan has been working with a clearing/forwarding agency. Ahsan has a younger brother and a sister, besides the mother, living with him.
"I was in the fourth row when the massive blast took place, and fire broke out. As my cloths fell off, I ran outside the mosque. Later, when I regained consciousness, I found myself in a hospital bed," he recalls.
The shocked and dejected mother of the victim remarked, "All such things happen only in this country where faithful are targeted this way even while offering prayers."
Inayat Ali, 35, an office boy at a private company was in the fourth row when the bomb went off. Lying in his hospital bed, he told Dawn that he had noticed a policeman sitting in the forward row and reciting the Holy Quran.
"As soon as the Imam Saheb raised the takbeer, there was a blast and fire engulfed the surroundings. I ran out of the mosque with my burning clothes peeling off," Inayat said. He said that he returned to the mosque helped out other victims.
Another man, 60-year-old Mazhar Husain, fortunately escaped grave injuries. He had sustained minor burns in his feet. He was in the sixth row, but at a distance from the spot where the bomb exploded.
Qamar Abbas, 30, an employee in the Askari Bank, is a regular visitor to the mosque. He was in the second row. Around 100-150 Namazis were already there when he arrived at the mosque, he recalled. Qamar Abbas had suffered shrapnel in his feet. He has already undergone two surgeries for the removal of several pieces of metal from his feet.
Refering Site
Two more policemen detained in blast case
21-5-2004
KARACHI, May 21: Police on early Friday morning picked up two more policemen in connection with the Hydri mosque blast, which claimed many lives.
So far no one had been formally charged in the case, but a number of suspects had been involved in investigation, a senior police official conducting a probe into the case said.
He told Dawn that constable Sarfaraz, who was posted at the Central Police Office and constable Babar, posted at Risala police station, were picked up by the investigation police from Lyari.
"They have not been arrested, but so far have only been involved in the investigation," the investigator explained. The two policemen were detained following a tip-off received during the investigation that they (policemen) might have links with the alleged suicide bomber or the absconding imam of a mosque in Baghdadi.
Fourteen people were killed and 96 others injured in a powerful blast on May 7, at Hyderi mosque, situated within the compound of Sindh Madressatul Islam. The death toll has risen to 22 so far as many victims, suffering serious burns, were getting treatment at different private hospitals.
The other character of the suicide bombing, Murtaza, a prayer leader of a mosque in Baghdadi, is still at large and police are conducting raids for his arrest. The police had involved 11 persons in the investigations, including four colleagues of Mohammad Akbar Niazi, the alleged suicide bomber and trainee policeman.
Later, the police picked up another batch of policemen, suspecting them of having links with the alleged bomber or imam. Apart from the immediate male family members of the suicide bomber, Akbar and prayer leader Murtaza, all the detained policemen had been released after interrogation, the investigator said.
Family members of Akbar further told the police that the prayer leader of the mosque had instigated Akbar for sectarian extremism. "We went to the mosque to question its prayer leader Murtaza, where we came to know that he had been missing since the explosion on May 7," the official added.
The police picked up Murtaza's father and two brothers for grilling. "We are trying to extract as much information as possible about Murtaza from his father and two brothers," an investigator added.
The sources said that Akbar Niazi, who had joined police in 2002, was sent for training in September, 2003, to Saeedabad police training centre. The sources said that Akbar was affiliated with the banned religious group, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and he had participated in 'jihad' in Afghanistan.
The police have also examined the record of Baghdadi police station, where Akbar was issued a character certificate. According to the police, the suspected police officials told the police that they had joined the force to provide secret information to their group.
An inquiry into the character examination of all the recruits, who had been trained in Saeedabad and Razzakabad centres, had been launched, the sources said. Referring to the back ground of Akbar, the investigator said his father had a fishing business and was well off, which ruled out the possibility that Akbar indulged in sectarian extremism for monetary gains.
A photograph from Akbar's documents, which he had provided for his appointment in the police department, was taken to the witnesses, who had been injured in the explosion and getting treatment at a private hospital, the officer said, adding, "these witnesses had earlier indicated about the presence of a suspicious man in police uniform.
We have shown the photograph of Akbar to the witnesses and they identified him as the policeman who was present in the mosque before the blast. The witnesses told us that the policeman argued with them when they asked him to go to the adjoining Sunni mosque, as he did not carry 'Khak-i-Shifa.' But he had asked them that if he, being Sunni, could not offer his prayers in a Shia mosque on which they kept quiet."
Refering Site
178kg explosives seized, includes metal plates especially made for suicide bombings, 2 held
21-5-2004
KARACHI, May 21: Police recovered a huge quantity of explosives and arrested two suspects from Saeedabad on Friday. Baldia Town Police Officer Imran Shaukat told Dawn that on an information about explosives, a raid was conducted in Saeed Goth, Saeedabad.
On early Friday morning, police picked up a suspect identified as Wasif for his alleged involvement in the explosives dealing. Following his arrest, police raided a two-room house in Saeed Goth and recovered 178 kilogram explosives, which included 28kg plastic explosives.
Apart from the explosives, police recovered 10 detonators, 150 metres of fuse-wire and about a dozen of metal plates, which were used in jackets especially made for suicide bombings, the TPO said.
A suspect, Gul Rahim, was also arrested from the house in the raid, police said. ASP Imran Shaukat pointed out that the two suspects, who were Afghans by nationality, were not associated with any of the proscribed sectarian or jihadi outfits.
They had reportedly sold the explosives to almost all the sectarian and jihadi outfits, including Harkatul Mujahdeen Al Alami, the TPO added. Police said that both the suspects had been booked under Explosives Act at Saeedabad police station.
Refering Site
Eyewitness identifies mastermind of Hyderi mosque blast
27-6-2004
KARACHI, June 25: An eyewitness identified on Friday the suspected mastermind of the bomb blast at Hyderi mosque before a judicial magistrate.
As many as 26 people were killed and dozens other wounded when a suicide bomber blew up himself in the mosque during Friday prayers on May 7, 20041.
The police produced Gul Hasan in the court of judicial magistrate Abdul Hameed Buroro, who conducted an identification parade of the suspect.
The suspect, who allegedly belongs to the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, was brought in an armoured personnel carrier amidst tight security.
Eyewitness Abdul Aziz identified the suspect among a set of dummies. In his statement before the magistrate, the witness stated that he had seen Gul Hasan wandering around in a suspicious manner when he was going to mosque for prayers, a while before the blast occurred.
The investigation officer submitted before the court that the accused confessed to have prepared the suicide bomber - constable Akbar Niazi - for the task and that he had kept a vigilant eye on the bomber until he entered Hyderi mosque.
The IO quoted suspect Gul Hasan as saying that he went to the other mosque on the premises of the Sindh Madressatul Islam. The suspect added that he informed his accomplices about the blast on phone.
The suspect, who is in a 14-day police custody, submitted to the court that the witness had seen him many times in police custody.
Refering Site
DNA test proves policeman�s hand in Hyderi mosque blast
01-10-2004
KARACHI: The Central Record Office (CRO) of Investigation
Branch of the Capital City Police (CCP) has confirmed that police constable
Akber Niazi was involved in the suicidal blast within the Hyderi Mosque on
May 7. Police had sent the remains of Akber Niazi for DNA test which matched
with the blood samples of his father Haji Kashmir Khan and brother Afzal
Khan, sources in the CRO added. On the basis of the DNA test it has been
proved that police constable Akber was involved in the suicidal blast within
the Hyderi Mosque.
LJ activist Gul Hasan indicted in Hyderi mosque blast case
14-10-2004
KARACHI, Oct 14: An Anti-Terrorism Court in Karachi on Thursday indicted Gul Hasan alias Ali Haider, an activist of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi for his alleged involvement in Imambargah Haidery bomb blast case.
The accused denied the charges and claimed innocence when it was read by the court, headed by Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch. Prosecution charged him as one of the accused, along with other absconding co-accused Asif Choto, Abdul Salam, Qasim, Mufti Eid Mohammad, for preparing police constable Akbar Khan Niazi for a suicide bomb attack on the Imambargah Hyderi.
Gul, who is also stated to be the mastermind behind the blast, was arrested by the law-enforcement agencies on June 12 from Mithadar. The court, after framing the charges fixed Oct 18 for the next hearing and directed the special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum to produce witnesses for deposition. Mushtaq Ahmed is representing the accused.
Meanwhile, the same court deferred indictment of accused in another bomb blast case pertaining to Imambargah Ali Raza and fixed Oct 22 for the next hearing.
Refering Site
Accused identified in Hyderi mosque blast case
02-11-2004
KARACHI, Nov 2: Prosecution examined on Tuesday one of its prime witnesses in the Haideri Mosque bomb blast case against a worker of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 put off the hearing till Nov 4 after the deposition of head constable Habibullah Niazi, who submitted to have seen accused Gul Hasan giving a briefcase to suicide bomber constable Akbar Khan Niazi.
As many as 26 people were killed and 98 others injured on May 7 when a suicide bomber blew himself inside the Haideri mosque on the premises of the Sindh Madressatul Islam.
Accused Gul Hasan, the alleged mastermind of the blasts, was arrested on June 13 in Mithadar. He is stated to have planned the attacks with absconding accused who included Asif Chuto and Mufti Obaid.
The head-constable stated that he was posted at the madressah on the day of the blast. He said around 12:45pm he saw a white car entering the institution from Sharah-i-Liaquat.
The prosecution witness said the car was occupied by four people, three of them bearded ones. He said a motorcycle with a pillion-rider also stopped near the car as the four occupants, one of whom in a police uniform, got down.
Niazi said accused Gul Hasan was carrying a briefcase, which he handed to the man in police uniform, who was also sporting a beard. Later, all of them embraced the constable who left for the Haideri mosque and the three others entered the Sunni mosque on the premises.
He said around 1:15pm a blast occurred and people started running here and there. He said he immediately informed the police station about the incident through a cellular phone of a passerby.
The prosecution witness, who was also cross-examined by the defence counsel, Mushtaq Ahmed, said he had also identified accused Gul Hasan during an identification parade before a judicial magistrate.
He said the SHO of the Mithadar and other senior police officials immediately reached the spot. He said the investigation officer collected the burnt pieces of rugs and blood-stained clothes of the faithful from the spot.
The prosecution witness also placed on record a copy of station diary containing details of his duty place and timings on the blast day.
Refering Site
Father of bombing accused deposes
02-03-2005
KARACHI, March 2: An anti-terrorism court recorded on Wednesday the statement of the father of the suicide bomber of the Haideri mosque blast case against a worker of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 fixed March 7 for the next hearing after special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum produced Kashmir Khan, father of police constable Akbar Khan Niazi who had blown himself inside the mosque.
As many as 26 people were killed and 98 others injured on May 7 when a suicide bomber blew himself inside the Haideri mosque on the premises of the historic Sindh Madarsah.
LJ man Gul Hasan is stated to have been the mastermind of bomb blasts at Haideri Mosque and Imambargah Ali Raza. He is alleged to have planned the attacks with absconding accused that included Asif Chutto and Mufti Obaid.
PW Kashmir Khan, father of eight sons and two daughters, stated that his son had participated in the Afghan Jihad twice. He said he got his son married in his bid to keep him away from his activities.
Kashmir Khan said Akbar, who was father of a two-year-old son, had left the house on May 4, 2004, telling his wife that he would return after 10 to 12 days. He said the Pesh Imam of the Masjid Quba in their locality used to persuade people to participate in jihad. He said Pesh Imam Murtaza also disappeared after his son.
Refering Site