Imambargah attack case: Accused handed over to police on 5-day remand

Qari Gul Muhammed was declared proclaimed offender 7 years ago.

RAWALPINDI:

The police on Thursday obtained five-day physical remand for an alleged terrorist who was arrested on Wednesday. Qari Gul Muhammad was declared proclaimed offender (PO) seven years ago in an armed attack on an Imambargah.

Anti-Terrorism Court-II Special Judge Muqarab Khan Niazi granted the physical custody of the accused to the Pirwadhai police for interrogation.

In their submission to the court, the Pirwadhai police said Gul Muhammad was declared proclaimed offender (POs) by a trial court in 2004. The trial court had sentenced four men to death and declared 11 as POs.

A police official added that the accused was an activist of the banned sectarian outfit, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ). He was arrested by a special team of police searching for proclaimed offenders. Gul Muhammad carries Rs200,000 as head money.

On February 26, 2002, terrorists killed 11 worshipers in a gun and grenade attack on Shah-i-Najaf Imambargah at Khyaban-i-Sir Syed.

Police arrested 10 of the suspects and prosecuted them in the Anti-Terrorist Court. On December 9, 2004 a trial court handed down death sentence to four of them -- Fazal Hameed, Habibullah, Tahir Mehmood and Hafiz Naseer Ahmed -- and seven years jail to Ashraf Ali for driving the motorcycle used in the attack.

The court acquitted five suspects -- Mubarak Hussain, Mujibur Rehman, Faraz Ahmed, Muhammad Sohail and Muhammad Abdullah.

The court declared Qari Gul Muhammad, Aziz Ahmed alias Usman Chota, Karimullah, Qari Nazakat, Saifur Rehman, Abdul Wahab, Rashid Satti, Jamshaid, Muhammad Ajmal, Rashidullah, Sajjad and Akram Lahori proclaimed offenders.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2011.