PHC suspends death sentence by military court

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday stayed execution of another alleged terrorist who had been awarded death sentence by a military court on terrorism charges.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Muhammad Daud Khan suspended the death sentence. It issued a notice to the federal government to submit record of the case within a fortnight.

The court suspended the death sentence after the mother of the convict Rizwanullah hailing from Shangla district filed a review petition.

The petitioner’s lawyer Muhammad Arif Jan submitted before the bench that the convict was handed over to the Pakistan Army by local elders in 2009 as he was required for interrogation.

The lawyer said he went missing and later he was shifted to Internment Centre Paitham in Swat district in 2014.

He submitted that the relatives then came to know through media reports that he had been awarded death sentence by a military court and the army chief had confirmed the sentence on May 3, 2016.

The lawyer stated that in its detailed judgment, the Supreme Court, which had upheld the creation of military courts, had ruled that the judgments of the military courts were subject to judicial review on two grounds i.e. jurisdictional error and mala fide of the law.

It was stated in the petition that sentence to the petitioner’s son was handed down on mala fide intention as he had gone missing in 2009 and was not involved in any terrorist activities.

An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement released on May 3, 2016 stated that the chief of the army staff confirmed the death sentences awarded to another 11 hardcore terrorists including the petitioner’s son, who were involved in committing heinous offences related to terrorism such as killing and kidnapping civilians, attacks on armed forces and law-enforcement agencies, destruction of schools and communication infrastructure. The convicts were tried by military courts. 

It was stated that Rizwanullah, son of Taj Mir Khan, was an active member of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. “He was involved in killing of a civilian, kidnapping a Wapda employee and attacking armed forces, which resulted in injuries to an officer and a soldier. He was also in possession of firearms and explosives. He confessed to his crimes before the magistrate in the trial court. He was tried on five charges and awarded death sentence,” the ISPR stated.

Separately, another PHC bench comprising Justice Irshad Qaiser and Justice Syed Afsar Shah extended the stay in suspension of the military court’s death sentence to an alleged terrorist on terrorism charges till the next hearing of the case.

The court had suspended the military court’s death sentence on May 10, in a review petition filed by Muhammad Ayaz, the brother of the convict, Muhammad Imran, son of Abdul Manan, a resident of Takht Bhai in the Mardan district.

The petitioner’s lawyer Saeed Afridi submitted before the bench that the convict was student of a 3rd year at the Islamia College.

He stated that the convict went missing in 2008 after he was injured in the security forces firing in the Mohmand Agency. His driver, who died in the incident, did not stop the car despite signalled by the security forces, said the lawyer.

The relatives, he said, then filed a habeas corpus petition in the Peshawar High Court for his safe recovery. In March 2015, the lawyer said, the high court disposed of the petition after receiving oversight board report that he had been shifted to internment centre in Timergara in Lower Dir and declared ‘black’.

As per the ISPR statement released in January 1, it was stated that the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif confirmed the death sentences of the nine men who were sentenced for offences relating to terrorism, including an attack on the Parade Lane Masjid, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Headquarters (HQs) in Multan, attacks on law-enforcement agencies (LEAs), and the kidnapping and murder of civilians in Lahore.