KARACHI, Sept 20: Examining 34 cases registered at the city’s different police stations, a Sindh High Court inquiry tribunal investigating the April 9, 2008 violence learnt on Saturday except for one all FIRs registered that day blamed unknown suspects for the violence.

However, only one FIR mentioned the political affiliation of the suspected perpetrators as belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

Headed by Justice Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui, the tribunal, which examined a total of 30 policemen as witnesses, was told by one of the police officers who had registered an FIR at the Clifton police station that a complainant, Mr Jaffery, who is a lawyer, alleged that activists belonging to the MQM’s Legal Aid Committee set his Zamzama office on fire.

“But Mr Jaffery did not name any of the members of the Legal Aid Committee, as he did not see those miscreants who set his office on fire,” stated Sub-Inspector Ghulam Rasool, who registered the FIR (73/2008) on the complaint of Mr Jaffery five days after the incident. “Mr Jaffery said he received the incident’s news on his phone from his colleagues, and his complaint was based only on suspicion that it was the job of Legal Aid Committee members.”

However the 29 other police officers the tribunal examined, who either registered or investigated the cases for April 9 violence, came up with a common fact that none of the complainants of the FIRs nominated any suspects and the investigations were still going on to locate the unknown miscreants.

At least 10 people were killed – six of them were burnt to death in an arson attack on Tahir Plaza on M.A. Jinnah Road – when violence erupted in the city after groups of lawyers clashed at the City Courts a day after the manhandling of former federal minister Dr Sher Afgan Khan Niazi in Lahore.

Police record shows that a total of five people were wounded in the day-long violence and 61 vehicles were set on fire in the large-scale violence in different parts of the city. With the conclusion of its third open hearing, the tribunal, which was set up in June by the Sindh government with the terms of reference to find out reasons and people behind the widespread violence, has recorded statements of a total of 60 witnesses, and adjourned its proceedings till Sept 27.

Earlier, the tribunal was told by Dr Zain Ali Shaikh, the SP (political) of the police’s Special Branch, that there was no intelligence report that the April 9 violence could occur. He said the violence was beyond the law enforcers’ assessment and it triggered suddenly to reach different parts of the city.

The day-long violence left some 34 cases registered by different police stations across the city. The police stations in the south zone of the police organisational system registered a total of 15 FIRs on April 9 followed by the east zone, where the police lodged 13 FIRs against unknown miscreants. Some six cases were registered at police stations in the west zone.

“The tribunal would examine some more police officers as witnesses in its next proceeding,” Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan, appointed to assist the tribunal, told reporters outside the courtroom after the proceedings. “They include the SP (CID), the SP (Security) and other officers, who came into contact with the cases registered about the April 9 violence.”

Earlier, Justice Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui asked the registrar to seek six more weeks from the Sindh government for the tribunal to complete its job, as the given deadline would expire on Sept 23.

The tribunal, which was established in June 2008 by the Sindh government, 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.

“It’s a matter between the tribunal and the Sindh government to fix that issue,” the additional advocate-general, appointed to assist the tribunal, told reporters after the proceedings. “The tribunal would definitely seek time to complete the assigned task, but it has nothing to do with our job.”