Chechens’ killings: Only four of 18 witnesses show up to testify

Tribunal head concerned if witnesses are under pressure.

QUETTA:

Most of the witnesses who   registered their names with the judicial tribunal probing the killings of foreigners in the Kharotabad incident did not appear for deposing their testimonies on Wednesday. Of the 18 witnesses, only four got their statements recorded.

“The tribunal tried to contact the witnesses but their cell phones were turned off. Are they under any pressure that they did not show up and switched off their phones?” head of the tribunal, Justice Hashim Kakar asked the SP (Investigations).

The SP, however, said that the witnesses were under no pressure. One of the eyewitnesses Hazrat Ali, who appeared before the tribunal, said: “I saw three women and two men walking towards the FC checkpost and one of the foreigners was carrying something like a hand-grenade. I got scared after seeing the faces of the foreigners and ran away. After a few seconds I heard a huge explosion.”

His statement was contradictory to those of other eyewitnesses who told the tribunal that none of the foreigners were carrying a hand-grenade or weapon.

Three other witnesses, Abdul Rashid, Abdul Majid and Abdul Wali, stated that they saw the men and women rushing towards the FC check post, heard an explosion after they saw them falling down. They said there was firing soon after the blast, forcing them to run away.

The tribunal adjourned the hearing till Saturday.

Meanwhile, President of the Balochistan Bar Association Dawood Kasi told the tribunal that Russian diplomats had contacted the Balochistan High Court seeking death certificates of the five killed foreigners. He said that since all the records and documents were with the tribunal, they have requested it to give them the death certificates so that they can shift the bodies to Russia for burial. Justice Kakar, however, said that the Russian government will have to contact the Balochistan health department for the death certificates.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2011.