KARACHI, Aug 16: A Sindh High Court inquiry tribunal investigating the April 9, 2008 violence in Karachi adjourned its proceedings till Aug 30 while directing a liaison officer from the police to submit a list of prosecution witnesses with their affidavits.

Justice Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui, presiding over the tribunal after a brief proceeding inside his chamber, issued a directive to SSP Niaz Khoso, working with the tribunal as a liaison officer, to compile the list of prosecution witnesses, which would lead to open proceedings of the tribunal on August 30.

“There are a total of 34 cases registered by the police on that particular day (April 9),” additional advocate-general Sarwar Khan, who has been appointed to assist the tribunal, told reporters outside the judge’s chamber after attending the proceedings.

“The liaison officer will now put up the witnesses’ list before the tribunal. We have not received any response from members of the public for evidence and relevant information on our requests.”

However, answering a question, Mr Khan said he was unaware of the exact number of such witnesses and said it would be made clear with the submission of the list by the police.

The tribunal, which was established in June by the Sindh government with terms of reference “to find out reasons and people behind the widespread violence in which 10 people were killed and more than 50 vehicles were set on fire”, was initially asked to come up with a report within two weeks but it took more than a month to fix the first hearing, on Aug 6.

The move to initiate a judicial inquiry into the April 9 violence came from the Pakistan People’s Party-led provincial administration after more than two months of the incident and drew serious criticism from political quarters and the legal fraternity. However, with the latest directives from Justice Siddiqui, Mr. Khan said the tribunal would hold open proceedings beginning on Aug 30. Earlier, SSP Khoso submitted computer-generated copies of 34 FIRs registered for violence on April 9 in different parts of the city, which included killing of 10 people and sever damage caused to public and private properties.

The record suggested that the south zone of the police organizational system witnessed more violent and brutal activities on April 9, as seven out of the 10 murders were registered in that area, including six burnt to death in an arson attack on Tahir Plaza on M.A. Jinnah Road.

The police stations in the south zone registered a total of 15 FIRs on April 9, when violence erupted in the city following the manhandling of former federal minister Dr Sher Afgan Niazi in Lahore. In the east zone, the police lodged 13 FIRs against unknown miscreants, followed by the west zone where six cases were registered mainly for disturbing law and order.The police also gathered figures, which suggested that 10 people were killed and five wounded in the daylong violence. A total of 61 vehicles were set on fire while four incidents were put in the ‘other’ cases of arson.

Meanwhile, the tribunal also sought details of the victims, which is likely to be submitted with the names of prosecution witnesses on Aug 30. The legal fraternity has already rejected the formation of the tribunal on the grounds that it is headed by a “PCO judge”.

Karachi Bar Association President Mahmoodul Hasan told Dawn the other day that he would like to reopen the matter and launch fresh investigations into the violence once the judiciary was restored to its Nov 2, 2007 position.