BB murder case: ATC issues bailable warrants for five witnesses

RAWALPINDI:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Wednesday issued bailable arrest warrants for five witnesses in the Benazir Bhutto murder case after they failed to appear in court.

ATC-I judge Ismail Pervez Joya issued the warrants after the witnesses failed to appear despite being issued several summons.

The witnesses include Senior Superintendent of Police Loralai, Balochistan Ashfaq Anwar, SP (retd) Javed Khan, Bilawal House Karachi official Abdur Razzaq Mirani, Federal Investigation Agency Assistant (FIA) Director Khalid Jameel and Inspector Nisar Khan.

The judge expressed his annoyance over the witnesses’ failure to appear and ordered that they be arrested if they fail to appear in the next hearing on February 9.

SSP Anwar was in charge of Benazir Bhutto’s security and was summoned several times to record his statement, but failed to appear.

FIA Special Prosecutor Chaudhry Muhammad Azhar told the court that the witnesses have been serving in other provinces. “They are at the disposal of provinces and they cannot appear in the court in a day or two,” he said.

Former SSP Yaseen Farooq, whose arrest warrant was issued during the last hearing, appeared before the court and recorded his statement.

Dr Muhammad Ashraf of the Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi also recorded his statement.

Defence lawyers did not take the opportunity to cross examine him.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2015.