The trial of three Pakistani militants, charged with murdering 12 people in a car bomb attack outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi, started on Saturday and the prosecution said it might call FBI officials as witnesses. The three accused, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Hanif and Mohammad Ashraf have all pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder, terrorism and the use of explosives in the June 14 attack.

Public prosecutor Abdul Waheed Khan told Reuters outside a special anti-terrorism court at Karachi's Central Jail names of U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation officials were not included in a list of 50 prosecution witnesses, but they might be called.

"It will depend on the case, if there is a need we can submit an application in the court to call FBI officials as prosecution witnesses," he said after the opening session of the trial.

Earlier, the prosecution's first witness, a police officer named Ali Gohar Soomro, narrated the events of the bombing.

He told the court he listed 18 vehicles damaged by the explosion but could not tell which was used for the attack.
After his testimony, court proceedings were adjourned until August 28.

The three accused were arrested in July and accused both of masterminding the consulate bombing and conspiring to kill President Pervez Musharraf.

They are members of al-Almi, an offshoot of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen organization, which has long been on a U.S. terrorism blacklist.

The group reportedly has links to Kashmiri nationalists fighting Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region.

In addition to those killed, 20 people were wounded in the explosion in front of the consulate, which has since moved. All those killed and injured were Pakistanis.

Khan said the FBI had carried out its own investigations after the blast, interviewing witnesses and those wounded.
The trial was shifted to Karachi's central prison because of security concerns.

Two of the accused -- Imran and Hanif -- admitted at a news conference last month to their involvement in the consulate attack and the plot to assassinate Musharraf.

Pakistani militant groups have been incensed by the government's decision to turn its back on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and to support the U.S.-led so-called war on terror after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

PHOTO CAPTION

Pakistani officials gather in front of the U.S. consulate in Karachi soon after a car bomb attack in this June 14, 2002 file photo. The consulate has reopened at an undisclosed location, an American official said August 23. REUTERS/Zahid Hussein/File photo
- Aug 23 9:28 AM ET