Non-bailable warrant out for IO for failing to appear in court

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) issued a non-bailable warrant on Monday for the arrest of the investigation officer (IO) in the airport attack case.

Investigation Office Tariq Ayub had failed to appear and his absence displeased the court, which ordered issuing his non-bailable arrest warrant and fixed October 29 to conduct the next hearing.

Three detained suspects, Sarmad Siddiqui, Asif Zaheer and Nadeem alias Burger alias Mullah, are being tried in the high-profile case. 

These men were indicted on March 6, 2015 over charges of facilitating terrorists who attacked Jinnah International Airport in June 2014.  The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responisibility for the airport attack. All three pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The three men were acquitted on March 2 this year by an additional district and sessions court housed at the central jail from the charges of engaging in an armed encounter with law enforcers and attempted murder.

The additional district and sessions judge, while announcing his verdict, said the prosecution had failed to provide enough evidence to prove the charges against Zaheer, Nadeem and Siddiqui. 

However, the court did not make any observation about the airport attack case being heard in the ATC.

The suspects are being tried for allegedly facilitating the attackers by providing them with illegal weapons. Initially, police claimed to have arrested the accused in Essa Nagri in October 2014 and described them as activists of a banned outfit. 

However, later the police claimed that the men were arrested with illegal weapons in raids conducted in the PECHS area and during interrogation they admitted to their involvement in providing arms and ammunition to the absconding co-accused, Malik Mumtaz, who was later used by terrorists in the attack.

The counsel for Asif Zaheer and Nadeem alias Burger had challenged in the ATC the charges of a police encounter and possession of explosive material. They had contended that their clients were facing trial under the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, including Section 7 of the law, but they bound to be tried in an ATC. Hence, they argued, the cases pertaining to the possession of illegal arms should be transferred to a sessions court.

Master Essa had been acquitted at the initial stages of prosecution by the police. The ATC had also granted the police’s plea for releasing Master Essa and acquitting him of all charges.

The court had been informed that Master Essa had been arrested on information provided by Sarmad and a joint interrogation team (JIT) had questioned him on November 14, 2014, and found him innocent.

Essa was finally released by the police on November 16 under Section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code due to want of proof.  It was later decided that the three detained suspects should be tried.

Sarmad had claimed that he was innocent and was implicated falsely. He had said that he was arrested three months earlier than the date shown in the police records. He also alleged that a few corrupt policemen had demanded millions of rupees for his release and his family had not been able to arrange the money.

He had also moved an application to the President of Pakistan while being detained in the central prison. The President House took notice of his application and issued notices to the Sindh DG Rangers, IG Police and other authorities concerned to investigate the claim of Sarmad that he had been arrested on August 15, 2014, by the Crime Investigation Department of the Sindh Police. However, the police had declared his date of arrest to be October 28, 2014, leading Sarmad to argue that he had been kept in illegal detention for three months and was being implicated falsely in the Karachi airport attack case.   He had claimed that a police officer had got him implicated in a false case.