An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi on Friday accepted bail plea of Sheeba Ahmed, an alleged financier of Safoora bus attack.
Sheeba Ahmed, allegedly associated with a banned organisation, had been arrested in the city’s Defence area on a lead provided by detained suspects Saad Aziz and Azhar Ishrat in September last year.
During the case proceeding, counsel of the accused argued that police failed to provide any evidence regarding his client’s links with a banned organisation. Neither, his association with al Qaeda or prime suspects in the case has been mentioned in the challan.
After hearing the arguments, the court approved Sheeba Ahmed’s bail plea and directed him to submit Rs 200,000 bail bond.
It may be mentioned here that a senior superintendent of police had claimed that the suspect had brainwashed the key Safoora attackers and provided them financial help.
The SSP revealed that a suspect, Hasan Zaheer, arrested recently in Lahore had also told investigators that Sheeba Ahmed had provided funds to a hospital for treating injured terrorists.
Gunmen stormed a bus in Karachi last month, killing 45 members of the Shiite Ismaili community in one of the deadliest incidents in Pakistan this year.
On May 13, gunmen stormed a bus in Karachi, killing 45 members of the Shia Ismaili community in one of the deadliest incidents in Pakistan last year.
The attack was swiftly claimed by IS, marking the first time the militants, who have seized control of large areas of Iraq and Syria, said they were behind an attack in Pakistan.
Islamabad has officially denied that IS is operating in Pakistan, which has been wracked by Al-Qaeda and Taliban linked violence for more than a decade.
But investigators believe the attack may have been carried out by the militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) as it seeks to expand its international influence.
