An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has acquitted four accused who were said to have links with banned separatist outfits in cases pertaining to possession of explosive material for want of evidence.
Mir Ali Shah, Muhammad Iqbal, Nasrullah and Muhammad had been arrested and booked by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on charges of possessing explosives last year in October.
The CTD had claimed that the accused were involved in supplying explosive material to the Baloch Raaji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS), an alliance of Baloch separatist organisations. The ATC XIV judge, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pronounced his order earlier reserved after recording evidence and final arguments from both the defence and prosecution sides. He ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its cases against the accused beyond the shadow of doubt, and therefore exonerated them of the charges.
The judge ordered the jail authorities to release the accused if they were not required in any other case. According to the prosecution, the CTD had arrested four men during an intelligence-based operation in Moach Goth on Hub River Road in October 2022. Explosives, detonators, and safety fuses were seized from their possession, it claimed, adding that the accused were identified as Mir Ali, Iqbal Nasrullah and Muhammad, who were subsequently taken into custody.
Four separate cases were lodged against them under Section 4/5 of the Explosive Substances Act 1908 read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) by the CTD. Earlier, the CTD had claimed that the suspects had arrived from Balochistan to deliver explosive material to the terrorists of banned separatist organisations, adding that the seized explosives was supposed to be used in terror acts in the city.