Brigadier Ali planned air strike on Pak Army headquarters

Islamabad, Mar 2 (ANI): Brigadier Ali Khan, who is facing a court martial for treason and mutiny, has reportedly been charged with masterminding a conspiracy to bomb the Army's General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan during a meeting of formation commanders.

The BBC quoted Major Sohail Akbar, a witness for the prosecution, as saying that the brigadier had persuaded a pilot of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to use his F-16 to bomb the GHQ.

Plans for assassinating the president and the prime minister were also on the table, Major Akbar revealed.

US forces and a Blackwater office were also on the table, he added.

The officer said he was introduced to Brigadier Khan by some Hizbul Tahrir men in July 2010, adding: "I know the Hizb members for the past seven years and have been meeting them after that session."

During the 2010 meeting, Major Akbar recalled that the brigadier claimed that 400 men were enough to "seize power after eliminating the army chief, the president and the prime minister".

"I am ready to lead the putsch," the brigadier said, according to Major Akbar.

Brigadier Khan once even claimed that the plot had the blessings of chief of the 111 Brigade and "a few other generals", the prosecution witness said.

"I refused to become a part of the plot after realising that it will cause horrendous bloodshed. Hizbul Tahrir regards violence as Haram," Major Akbar said. (ANI)