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Alleged Nishtar Park bomber was thrice stopped by police on the way

By Faraz Khan

KARACHI: According to police interrogations into the Nishtar Park bomb blast, the men who went on the mission allegedly with a loaded suicide bomber's jacket were in a taxi that was reportedly stopped thrice by the police on the way but was allowed through.

Eight men have been nominated by the police in the case, including alleged suicide bomber Mohammad Siddique. The other accused men are Mufti Zakir Hussain Siddiqui, Sultan alias Mehmood, Mohammad Amin alias Khalid Shaheen and Rehmatullah alias Rehmat. The absconding accused are Amanullah alias Mufti Ilyas alias Jamal, Qari Abi and Khalid alias Abrar Darey Wala. The police believe that three of the main accused are absconding in a "no-go" area in the NWFP which is why they have yet to be arrested.

The alleged suicide attack took place on April 11, 2006, on Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH) in which 54 people, including the top leadership of the Sunni Tehrik were killed and hundreds were injured at Nishtar Park in Karachi.

"We were in a final round but they escaped from here and went to the 'no-go area' in the NWFP were we cannot reach," said Soldier Bazaar Investigations Officer Sarfaraz Aliana, who was on the case. The police declared the arrests of Mufti Zakir and Rehmatullah from Peoples Chowrangi near Quaid-e-Azam's mazaar and said that they recovered one kilogram of bomb material and two TT pistols. The police said that the men were on motorcycle No. LOB-2695.

According to Aliana, at 9:00 a.m. on 12 Rabbiul Awwal, Sultan came to take Siddique with them along with Darey Wala and Mufti Ilyas for the Nishtar Park mission. 'We went to our house in Qasba Colony and ate there, after which Siddique offered two Nafil prayers and wore the loaded jacket and left the house to go to Nishtar Park,' Rahmat allegedly confessed to the police during investigations. 'We hired a taxi to go to the park and on the way the police stopped it at three different spots but just checked us and let us go ahead.'

Siddique, the alleged suicide bomber, hailed from Mansehra and came to Karachi around five years ago. He reportedly worked at a local shop for religious books in Saddar and then at a shop near Jamia Binoria, where he met and befriended Binoria student Habib, according to what the police learnt in interrogations.

Siddique then apparently went to Afghanistan to train in jihad where he met Sultan and became close friends, according to Afzal, a friend from the shop near Jamia Binoria. After completing training, Siddique supposedly came back to the shop where he and Sultan often made plans.

On the night of 11 Rabiul Awwal, Sultan Mehmood and Qari Abid came to Siddique in front of Jamia Binoria and left after a discussion.

Sultan told the police that Mufti Ilyas sent Mufti Zakir to check whether the men were in their positions or not. Mufti Zakir left only when he was satisfied.

They were all were sitting near the gate of the park to avoid the cameras and Khalid and Sultan sheltered Siddique. In the meanwhile, when Abbas Qadri's car entered the park one of them asked Siddique if he knew who was in it. When Siddique replied that he did, the others left him.

According to the police, Siddique is the same person involved in unsuccessful orange cart bomb blast attack on Allama Hasan Turabi. Apparently, Siddique had planned to wear the Nishtar Park suicide bomber's jacket at Turabi's funeral.

Siddique's brother Muhammad Rafiq told the police that when he came to Karachi on May 25, 2007 he went to Jamia Binoria and asked Afzal where his brother was to which he was reportedly told that he could have died in the Nishtar Park bomb blast. Rafiq went to the Soldier Bazaar police station where he was shown an album and Siddique's head which he recognized. Apparently Rafiq buried it at the Edhi graveyard at Mochko. He told the police he would not take it back home as it would not be good for the family.

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