A FATHER whose family died in the horrific Birkby firebomb attack was on his way home to Pakistan today - hours after seeing justice dispensed.

Rab Nawaz Khan saw the two remaining gang members both jailed for 15 months yesterday.

Hours later he started the long journey to the home in Pakistan he once shared with his wife, Nafeesa, and five daughters.

All perished in the Osborne Road blaze on May 12 last year.

Mr Khan, who was in Rawalpindi when the tragedy happened, had to fly to Britain to collect their bodies.

His five little girls had been on an extended visit to Britain from Pakistan with their mother, as she had wanted to look after her father Abdul Aziz Chisti after he had suffered a heart attack.

Intizar Hussain, 25, of Clifton Road, Marsh, and Mohammed Arif Siddiq, 29, of Walkley Terrace, Heckmondwike, both admitted conspiring to commit criminal damage to motor vehicles outside Mr Chisti's home.

Leeds Crown Court had heard prosecutor Paul Worsley outline how the pair drove the three killers - Shaied Iqbal, Nazar Hussain and Shakiel Shazad - to the terraced house.

But both men eventually became leading prosecution witnesses in the case and gave police breakthrough information.

The family's killers were sentenced to a total of 334 years in jail last month.

The young sisters who died were Tayyaba, 13, Rabia, 10, Ateeqa, six, Aneesa, two and baby Najeeba, six months.

Their 36-year-old mother and uncle Mohammed Ateeq, 18, were also killed in the blaze.

Their grandmother, Mrs Zaib-u-Nisa, 54, escaped the flames by leaping from an upstairs window. But she suffered serious injuries and died later in hospital.

Only Mr Chisti, 59, a former Imam, his son Mohammed Shafique, 32, and his daughter, Siddiqah, 28, managed to flee the intense fire.

Mr Chisti, who accompanied Mr Khan back to Pakistan yesterday, said he was satisfied by the sentences imposed by Justice Andrew Smith, but added: "Still, it's not finished."

Shahid Mohammed, 21, of Huddersfield, went on the run after being questioned by police.

He is still at large - but detectives have vowed to continue efforts to find him.

"The job is never finished until the last person is in the net," said the man in charge of the case, Det Supt Bob Bridgestock.

"I'm confident that people know exactly where he is."

He vowed the search would continue to catch Shahid Mohammed, not only in Britain, but overseas.

"This would give tremendous comfort to the Chisti family. It would give completion to the family."

But he said he was now happy that five of the gang members were behind bars.

Talking of the men's decision to inform on fellow gang members he commented: "The sentences this morning give credit for people coming forward and speaking out.

"They did the right thing by speaking out."

Initially, police faced a wall of silence.

"In any major investigation the public are our eyes and ears, and sometimes we understand the resistance to come forward and give evidence," said Det Supt Bridgestock.

But he said the serious nature of the tragedy encouraged people to help police.

"People found it very difficult to remain silent when they had information and they knew the devastation."

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