Attack on judge: Suspects used rickshaw to transport explosives-laden motorcycle to blast site

ASWJ withdraws support for deceased, detained suspects.

KARACHI: The suspects behind the attack on Justice Maqbool Baqar revealed that they brought the explosives-laden motorcycle to the blast site on a rickshaw.

The alleged militants of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), believed to have carried out the attack on the senior judge near the Sindh High Court , were arrested from Surjani Town by the district South police along with the alleged mastermind, Bashir Ahmed Leghari, who died on Wednesday. Leghari’s son, Mavia Leghari and Abu Bakar are, however, still in custody.

An official privy to the matter told The Express Tribune that the police investigators have arrested four more suspects allegedly involved in the case.



On Friday, the police presented Mavia and Abu Bakar before the media and they confessed to the crime. They shared the details of the attack, how they planned it and even recorded the names of their other companions.

According to them, the motorcycle they used in the blast was snatched from Surjani Town. Bashir chalked out the plan of the attack at his house - they packed explosive in the lights, the fuel tank and the silencer of the motorcycle.

“Since there were so many explosives in the tank and the silencer, we brought the motorcycle to the spot on a rickshaw and I pressed the button of the remote on the bomb,” Abu Bakar confessed, adding that he was selected for the job through a lucky draw. “We were even present at a spot for at least 15 minutes after the explosion. Bashir Leghari also conveyed us a ‘Happy Marriage’ message.”

The suspects also claimed they were behind the killing of senior lawyer Kauser Saqlain, along with his two underage sons, on Mauripur Road.

ASWJ steps back

Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, formerly known as the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), held a meeting with senior police officials on Thursday and warned that they will not bury their slain leader, Bashir Leghari, until the law enforcers release their detained companions. After the suspects confessed in front the media, the party stepped back.

“We were supporting Bashir Leghari as he was the chairperson of the Deoband Action Committee and a social leader but, it seems now, that he was involved in terrorist activities,” said ASWJ spokesperson Maulana Saeed Akbar Farooqui, while talking to The Express Tribune. “We will not even demand the release of the other two men if they are really involved in the terror activities and if the police prove to us that they are guilty.”

Meanwhile at the press conference, district South DIG Dr Ameer Shaikh reiterated that the deceased, Bashir Leghari, was the mastermind of the attack but it is possible that his family was not aware of his activities. “The group has now turned its strategy and they currently plan to hit high-profile targets,” he said. “They were also planning to attack on MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi and that planning was also done in Bashir’s house.” DIG Shaikh assured, however, that further investigations were underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2013.