Three men get 29 years each in jail for shootout with police

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has awarded a 29-year imprisonment sentence to each of the three men accused in cases pertaining to an armed encounter with the police and the possession of illicit weapons.Ashfaq Rehman, Abdullah and Mohammad Hammad were found guilty of engaging in a shootout with the police with the intention to kill, causing terror and carrying unlicensed pistols within the jurisdiction of the Kalakot police station in January. The ATC-XIII judge, who conducted the trial at the judicial complex inside the central jail, pronounced this verdict that had been reserved after recording evidence and the final arguments from both sides.

The judge ruled that the prosecution successfully established its cases against the present accused beyond any reasonable doubt. He ordered forfeiture of properties of all the accused. They were told to pay a fine of Rs120,000 each, and in case of default, they would have to spend an additional year in prison. The accused were remanded back to prison to serve out their sentences.

According to state prosecutor Ghulam Murtaza Metlo, on January 29 the accused fired indiscriminately at the police, and in the ensuing encounter two of them — Rehman and Abdullah — suffered gunshot wounds. They were then arrested by the police, and unlicensed pistols were recovered from their possession, he said. The prosecutor contended that their act created panic, terror and a sense of insecurity among the public.