An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday dispatched a letter to the Sindh home department as Safoora carnage case lingers on due to absence of the prosecution counsel.
The letter stated that the case was lingering with no progress, so a public prosecutor should be appointed immediately. A formal proceeding of the case has not been initiated yet due to absence of the prosecutor.
It should be mentioned here that Muhammad Khan and Mubashar Mirza, the prosecutors appointed by the government, had given up the case in October due to insufficient dues and security issues.
The prosecution team had demanded Rs 3 million each, residences in secure localities and security squads at their disposal. The department had issued notification of Rs 3 million to each public prosecutor but later it was reduced to Rs 0.6 million each. The prosecutors did not agree with the amount and decided not to pursue the case. Earlier on November 9, the court had summoned a complete challan of Safoora carnage on November 22.
The investigation officer then submitted a report in the court which revealed that helpers of the assailants Sultan and Siddique are brothers.
Accused Sajjad Naeem got licenses for weapons with the help of Zahid Moti Wala. The report also stated that the weapons were handed over to Saad Aziz and other terrorists involved. Fahad Aziz had opened fire on the bus with the same weapons. In May 2015, at least 46 individuals of Ismaili community were killed while as many as nine were injured after militants opened indiscriminate fire on a bus in Karachi.
Authorities said that key militant, Saad Aziz, was working for banned outfit Islamic State (IS) for a year. The Sindh police inspector general (IG) said that a group of 25 terrorists had planned the attack.
