PHC acquits three more convicts of terror charges

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday acquitted three more convicts of terrorism charges due to the faulty investigation in the case and maintained the sentence of one terror convict.
A two-member special bench comprising Justice Abdul Latif Khan and Justice Syed Afsar Shah acquitted three terror convicts including Hazrat Bilal, Mumtaz Khan and Jabir Shah who were sentenced by the anti-terrorism court.
The special bench of the PHC had also acquitted five terror convicts in the hearing of the cases for two days after the police and state lawyers failed to provide concrete evidence in support of their claims regarding the involvement of these men in acts of terrorism.
The appellants, Hazrat Bilal, through his lawyer Saeed Khan submitted before the bench that he was arrested on November 25, 2013 by personnel of Chamkani Police Station. He contended that as per the first information report, the police had recovered four hand-grenades, a pistol and cartridges from his possession when he was walking along the Dilazak Road. He submitted that the anti-terrorism court then awarded him 14 years rigorous imprisonment.
Terming the police and prosecution story as false and baseless, the convict’s legal counsel said that as per the appellant’s claim, he along with his three brothers was picked up by the personnel of the law-enforcing agencies from his house. The appellant claimed he was then booked in false case and his three brothers were freed.
The state lawyer stated that the police had recovered hand-grenades from the convict and defended the sentence given to him by the anti-terrorism court. The special PHC bench also acquitted another terror convict Mumtaz from terrorism charges as the anti-terrorism court had awarded him 14 years sentence for possessing explosives and devices used in making bombs in his house.
The counsel for the appellant, Saeed Khan, submitted that the police had arrested Mumtaz and Muhammad Sharif on the spot in the same case, but the court acquitted Muhammad Sharif in the case and sentenced the appellant.
He said the police did not say in the report as to wherefrom the explosives and other material had been recovered as about seven men were living in the joint family house and the case was registered against two persons only.
The bench also acquitted Jabir Shah, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the anti-terrorism court Mardan in the case of killing of police officer during a raid on a hideout in Kharki area of Mardan district in 2009.
The PHC bench issued the acquittal orders of the terror convicts after the assistant advocate general, representing the state, failed to defend the conviction due to the inconsistency in the statements of police witnesses and the first information report and also the faulty investigation in these cases.
However, the bench upheld the 14 years sentence of a terror convict Shoaib, who carried the alias Afsar as well as Qari, on terrorism charges. The anti-terrorism court, Peshawar had awarded him 14 years sentence and fined him Rs50,000 for planting a cooking oil tin filled with explosives at the Saifan police post. The convict had challenged the sentence in the high court.
The state lawyer stated that the accused had also made confession that he did this on the orders of the banned militant group, Lashkar-e-Islam and also mentioned the names of LI commanders in his statement. He was arrested by the police on April 20, 2014 and the court sentenced him on June 16, 2014.
In another case, the bench dismissed the appeal against conviction of an accused in the sexual abuse of a boy. The anti-terrorism court Mardan had awarded five-year sentence and fine of Rs5,000 to Muhammad Asif, resident of Swabi, for sexually abusing a class-6 student Zeeshan Ahmad and then making a video footage with his mobile phone for blackmailing purposes.The bench, after hearing arguments from both the sides, maintained the five years sentence of the accused.