US consulate bombing convict moves high court

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court issued on Tuesday notices to the advocate-general (AG) Sindh and the attorney-general for Pakistan (AGP) on identical constitutional petitions of parents of two activists of the Harkatul Mujahideen Al Aalmi who were given life imprisonment in the US consulate bombing case last year.

Rukhsana Farhat, mother of Sharib Farooqi, and Raees Khan, father of Hafiz Zubair, who were given life terms for planning a suicide attack on the US consulate in Karachi on June 14, 2002, claimed their sons were being tortured in their cells at Central Prison Karachi and there was information that they might be handed over to the US. Twelve persons were killed when the driver of a Suzuki pickup packed with explosives parked along the wall of the US consulate exploded.

On April 13, 2003 Judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi of anti-terrorism court No 1 convicted Sharib Arsalan Farooqui and Hafiz Mohammed Zubair and sentenced them to life imprisonment. They were also fined Rs 500,000 each.

Chief Mohammed Imran and Deputy Chief Mohammed Hanif of the Harkatul Mujahideen Al Aalmi were also sentenced to death in the same case. The appeals of all the convicts are pending disposal before the anti-terrorism bench of the Sindh High Court.

The petitioners claimed Sharib and Hafiz Zubair were being tortured in their jail cell to compel them to confess to more cases of explosions. They submitted that they had also information that Sharib and Zubair might be handed over to the US once they confessed to their involvement in more cases of terrorism.A division bench of the Sindh High Court, comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Zia Pervez, after hearing counsel for the petitioner issued notices to the AG Sindh and the AG for July 7.

Benazir case: Judge Parkash Lal Ambwani of an accountability court in Karachi adjourned on Tuesday hearing of the PIA appointments reference against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and others. The court was to hear on Tuesday an application of Ms Bhutto’s counsel challenging the indictment sheet declaring it defective.

At the previous hearing, Hafeez Lakho, counsel for Ms Bhutto, had filed the application contending that the indictment of the accused in the reference was defective as it made a general allegation against all the accused and did not assign any particular role to them. When the court assembled on Tuesday, a junior of Mr Lakho apprised the court that the counsel was out of the country and requested an adjournment. staff report

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