Fishermen society’s officer implicated in Safoora bus attack

ATC in Karachi hands over Sultan Qamar Siddiqui, two others to police on 14-day physical remand

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC-I) in Karachi sent a top official of the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS), Sultan Qamar Siddiqi alias Roomi, and two others on a 14-day physical remand on Wednesday after police implicated the accused in Safoora bus carnage.

Rangers had earlier sought preventive detention of the vice-chairperson FCS, along with Hussain Omar Siddiqui alias Shibli and Naeem Sajid alias Pina after all three were rounded up by the paramilitary force in a raid at Siddiqi’s house in Karachi’s Gulsitan-e-Jauhar area in June.

The accused remained in the Rangers' custody until they officially confessed the charges against them following which they were handed over to the police.

Read: Preventive detention: Rangers hold fishermen society’s officer for target killing, extortion

The suspects were implicated in the Safoora bus attack case after they confessed to facilitating the assailants with finance and weapons, informed sources told The Express Tribune. The deadly attack on Ismaili community left 45 dead in May 2015.

Their implication comes at a time when final investigation report of the grisly incident is still awaited. The ATC has directed investigators to submit the final investigation report of the deadly attack by September 19.

The police had earlier submitted an interim charge-sheet in the case, which confirmed that the assailants were affiliated with the Islamic State.

Sources believe Sultan has some kind of relation with one of the main suspects of the Safoora attack, Azhar Ishrat, who is an engineer by profession.

At the time of their detention, Rangers’ claimed they had credible information against the suspects for his involvement in offences such as target killing, kidnapping and extortion.

Read: Safoora bus carnage: ATC seeks final investigation report

“It is in public interest that an inquiry be conducted against the above said person and during the inquiry he be kept under preventive detention for the period of three months, as per the law,” the Rangers told the judge.