Security reasons: PHC transfers medical student’s murder case to Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday ordered transfer of murder case of a medical student Asma Rani from Anti-Terrorism Court in Kohat to Peshawar district for security reasons.

A single bench of Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth allowed the application for transfer of the trial and bail petitions of the accused including Mujahid Afridi and Shah Zeb to Anti-Terrorism Court No-1 Peshawar.

Asma Rani, 3rd year student of Abbottabad Medical College, was shot dead for what her relatives said rejecting a marriage proposal. Asma Rani's brother Muhammad Irfan, whose family hails from Lakki Marwat and is presently living in Kohat, filed the application for transfer of the cases from Anti-Terrorism Court Kohat to Peshawar through his lawyers Ghulam Mohiyuddin Malik and Muhammad Farook Malik.

During the hearing, the petitioner's lawyer Ghulam Mohiyuddin Malik submitted that close relatives of the accused are influential people including the district president of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the local MNA, and some practicing lawyers in Kohat.

"The complainant party/petitioner used all resources to engage a local lawyer for pleading the murder case of Asma Rani in Kohat, but no one accepted the brief of the case," it was stated in the application by Muhammad Irfan.

The petitioner claimed that on each hearing, their opponents accompanied by supporters were hostile towards them. He said that he and his relatives felt threatened due to their hostility. "The atmosphere is unsafe and uncongenial in Kohat for me and my lawyer from Peshawar," he claimed.

Recently the prosecution had added Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act to the First Information Report and the case was transferred from ordinary court to Anti-Terrorism Court for trial. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police had arrested through Interpol Mujahid Afridi, the alleged killer of the third-year student of Ayub Medical College at the airport in Islamabad.

Hussain Ali, counsel for the alleged killers, submitted before the bench that there was no threat to the petitioner and his lawyer while appearing in the case before ATC Kohat. He also said that only one accused Shah Zeb had filed bail petition, while another Mujahid Afridi, had not applied for bail petition.

However, Additional Advocate General, Waqar Ahmad Khan, representing the state in the petition, informed the bench that the government had no objection to transfer of the case from ATC Kohat to Peshawar.