PHC orders transfer of Mashal case to Abbottabad

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday ordered the transfer of Mashal Khan lynching case from the anti-terrorism court in Mardan to Abbottabad due to security reasons.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim also ordered trial of the case in the Haripur Central Prison by the anti-terrorism court judge of Abbottabad keeping in view security concerns and the sensitivity of the case.

The court issued the order on an application filed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government under Section 28 of the Anti-Terrorism Act for the security of anti-terrorism court judge, official witnesses and prosecutors during the trial.

During the course of hearing, Additional Advocate General Mian Arshad Jan submitted before the bench that the provincial Home and Tribal Affairs Department had conveyed to the court in writing that the Haripur Jail would be the most secure place for conducting the trial.

“The Haripur Central Prison is the most secure place for trial of the Mashal Khan lynching case as there is a possibility that law and order situation could be created and clash between the rival parties and supporters of the accused persons during trial of the case in Mardan district could happen,” the secretary Home and Tribal Affairs stated in the written reply to the court.

Mian Arshad Jan informed the bench that the government would make arrangements for the trial in the prison within 10 to 15 days once the court made the decision. Iqbal Khan, father of Mashal Khan, had filed the petition under Section 28 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

The act empowers the court to transfer a case from one ATC to another if it is in the interest of justice. The provincial government supported the stance of the petitioner and submitted application for ensuring the security of the judge, official witnesses and prosecutors during the trial.

Abdul Latif Afridi appeared for Mashal Khan’s father in the case. The provincial government through secretary Home and Tribal Affairs termed the Mardan Central Prison inappropriate for conducting the proceedings of the case. It had suggested that the Haripur Central Prison had the capacity for arranging the trial of such a sensitive nature.

The lawyers representing parents of the accused, including Syed Yousaf Shah, Inayat Bacha and Akbar Ali Shah, had submitted that the newly constructed Mardan Central Jail had the capacity for holding such a trial. They said the anti-terrorism court had already heard certain cases in the jail.

The lawyers submitted that under the law the parties should be provided the nearest court for the trial for their convenience. They had requested the court to dismiss the application filed for transfer of the case.

Mashal Khan, a 23-year-old student of the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, was lynched by a mob, including students, staff members and outsiders at the campus on April 13 this year after being accused of committing blasphemy.  His father had said in the petition that the open trial in such a sensitive matter was not possible. He pleaded that the hearing should be conducted inside the jail to protect witnesses, lawyers and judges from any harm.