Anti-terror court issues arrest warrant against Mehsud

Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Mar 11: A Pakistan Anti-Terrorism Court has issued non-bailable arrest warrants against local Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who is accused by the US and Pakistan authorities of masterminding December 27 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Issuing the arrest warrants for the accused, Judge Habibur Rehman directed the Station House Officer (SHO) City Police to arrest Baitullah Mehsud and would-be suicide bomber, Ikramullah, residents of South Waziristan, Abadur Rehman, Abdullah alias Saddam, a resident of Mehmand tribal region and Faiz Muhammad alias Kaskat, a resident of Swabi. The court ordered them to be produced before it as soon as possible for being involved in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Meanwhile, the copies of four suicide attacks took place in Rawalpindi last year, including the one on Bhutto were distributed among the accused and the judge adjourned the hearing till March 18.

Hasnain Gull and Muhammad Rafaqat, who were arrested while carrying explosives in a cab owned by Rafaqat, are accused in all the four cases of suicide attacks as, according to police, they had admitted that they know of the perpetrators of these suicide attacks.

Three other accused Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman and Abdul Rasheed were arrested for keeping the information about the plan of the suicide attack on Benazir Bhutto that resulted in her death along with 18 others. According to the details, Hasnain and Rafaqat were also involved in a case registered on February 7, 2008 with police station on the charges of carrying illegal weapons including hand grenades and suicide jackets.

UNI