Man who threatened to bomb US consulate in Pakistan sent to prison

Karachi, Apr 21 (PTI) A Pakistani court sent a man to judicial custody after he was charged with threatening to bomb the US Consulate General here.
    The Magistrate on Monday ordered the accused, identified as Sharjeel Akbar, to a 14-day judicial custody, a day after he was arrested.
    According to the police, he threatened to bomb the US consulate on Sunday, prompting the police to arrest him after a complaint lodged by an inspector of the Foreign Security Cell.
    He was arrested by the Docks Police in Karachi, and a case was registered against him.
    Judicial magistrate Imanullah Phulpoto of Karachi District Court remanded Judicial custody to Akbar in the case under sections 506-B (criminal intimidation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
    The Foreign Security Cell inspector alleged that on April 15, the consulate’s staff informed him that they had received a threatening phone call from a man, known as Sharjeel Akbar, claiming that he had planted a bomb near the consulate.
    The complainant said that he immediately informed his superiors, and he, along with the bomb disposal unit, searched the area for the explosives, but did not find anything near the consulate.
    The investigating officer (IO) of the case informed Magistrate Inamullah that the suspect was arrested from West Wharf Road on Sunday during a search operation.
    IO told the court that investigations are being held to ascertain whether Akbar had any link to the attack on the US Consulate on March 1 in Karachi when angry protesters stormed the building after the US and Israel strikes on Iran.
    Starting February 28, the US and Israel launched a massive joint attack on Iran, which killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and with Iran's retaliation, it extended to the entire Gulf region till ceasefire on April 8 for peace talks.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)