KARACHI: An antiterrorism court was informed that despite lapse of around 14 months the chemical examination reports of three Chinese teachers killed in the April 2022 suicide bombing in Karachi University were still awaited to determine actual cause of their deaths.

Three Chinese teachers and their local driver were killed when a female suicide bomber, Shari Hayat Baloch alias Brimash, blew herself up at the entrance of the Confucius Institute on the premises of KU in April 26, 2022.

A lone accused, Dad Bux, has been charged with carrying out surveillance and reconnaissance of the varsity at the behest of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

When the matter came up before the ATC-XVI judge for hearing, the prosecution produced three female medico-legal officers and two male medico-legal officers in court to record their testimonies about the medico-legal procedures performed on the foreign and local victims.

Defence grills five MLOs who conducted autopsies of victims in 2022 suicide bombing

The witnesses deposed that they worked as MLOs at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) on the day of the incident they had separately performed medico-legal procedures on the bodies of the Chinese teachers and their driver and prepared their post-mortem reports.

The MLOs deposed that they had collected samples sent the same to the laboratory for a chemical analysis to determine the actual cause of their death.

The witnesses were cross-examined by defence counsel Shaukat Hayat. Upon grilling, the witnesses said the chemical reports about the actual cause of deaths were still awaited.

However, they produced documents related to the medico-legal procedures performed by them at the JPMC.

After recording their testimonies and cross-examination, the judge summoned other witnesses to testify on the next date.

The judge fixed the matter for July 4 for recording testimonies of other witnesses.

NBWs reissued

The judge also reissued non-bailable warrants for arrest of six absconders belonging to the outlawed outfit BLA —husband of the female suicide bomber Haibatan Basheer, Basheer Zaib, Rehman Gul, Khalil Ahmed Moosa alias Waja and Mir Safeer Ahmed — after the investigating officer submitted a report regarding non-execution of previous arrest warrants.

The IO, Inspector Sanaullah Cheema, was told to execute warrants on the six absconders, arrest and produce them in court by July 4.

According to the prosecution, suicide bomber Shari Baloch had targeted the Chinese nationals on the directives of the outlawed BLA, whose leadership is said to be hiding in neighbouring Afghanistan.

A case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 109 (abetment), 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Sections 11-F (membership, support and meetings relating to a proscribed organisation), 6 (terrorist act) and 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2023