A special anti-terrorism court (ATC) has sentenced Zahidullah Suleman and Bismillah Haji Lala to death for plotting to blow up the Sindh Assembly Building and launching a war against the state.
Both the convicts will serve three times rigorous life imprisonments, with their other three accomplices before, the capital punishment is carried out. The other three suspects include Muhammad Qasim, Inamullah Bilal and Gul Muhammad.
All of the five suspects will serve three times rigorous life imprisonment and on completion of the term, Suleman and Lala will be sent to the gallows.
Special Court No12 at the Anti-Terrorism Complex in Karachi Central Jail ruled on the cases of the terrorists who conspired to wage war against the state and blow up the Sindh Assembly with a suicide attack.
The court convicted five suspects in other offenses too, including possession of explosives, police encounter and attempted murder. The court sentenced accused Suleman and Lala to death. The court also imposed a fine of Rs1 million on each of the two suspects.
Read More: Six terrorists killed in Sibi
The court ruled that accused Suleman was the suicide bomber who was supposed to carry out a suicide attack in a rickshaw on the Sindh Assembly Building. Accused Suleman was doing all this at the behest of a man identified as Colonel Bismillah, who as per investigation, was at first working for Afghan intelligence and then for the Indian intelligence agency RAW.
All of the suspects were arrested in a raid on their hideout on February 2, 2021. The suspects had told the police during interrogation all of them agreed with each other, verbally, to plan suicidal attacks on the Sindh Assembly, Karachi Stock Exchange and other government buildings.
Lala recorded videos of the Sindh Assembly and Karachi Stock Exchange on his mobile phone, while police also recovered two maps from the house.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2022.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ