Death sentence by military court challenged in PHC

PESHAWAR: A citizen from Upper Dir district on Tuesday challenged in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) the award of death sentence to his brother by a military court.

Ajab Gul, brother of the convicted terrorist Taj Gul, son of Sultan Zareen, challenged the sentence through his lawyer Arif Jan.It was stated in the judicial review petition that some five years ago the family members had handed over Taj Gul to the security forces.

The petition said the family members had met the detainee several times at the internment centre in Swat. Later, they came to know through the media on March 15 about his death penalty.

The brother of the convict prayed the court to suspend the execution as no charges were conveyed to the detainee and he was denied the right to defence during the trial.As per the army-run Inter-Services Public Relations statement, the convict was involved in attacking the law-enforcement agencies, which resulted in the deaths of police constables and levies personnel.

The ISPR said a cache of arms and explosives were recovered from him. It said the convict had confessed to the offences before the magistrate for which he was awarded the death sentence.He was among the 13 convicts whose death sentences were confirmed by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.

According to the ISPR, the condemned terrorists were tried by the military courts for involvement in the Nanga Parbat attack, Saidu Sharif Airport, destruction of schools, attacks on the armed forces, law-enforcement agencies and civilians.