PHC orders release of 14 terror suspects on bail

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday ordered release of 14 terror suspects including a grade-6 student on bail.

They had been arrested by the law-enforcing agencies from Bajaur tribal district some years ago and handed over to the administration for trial.

A division bench comprising Justice Roohul Amin Khan and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan ordered release of the terror suspects. The court directed the Bajaur administration to release them on bail after producing personal sureties of two bail bonds worth Rs2, 00,000 each. During the course of hearing, Wali Khan Afridi appearing for the petitioners submitted before the court that the law-enforcing agencies had arrested the 14 persons, including a grade-6 student on the suspicion of being involved in terrorism.

The lawyer argued that the suspects were handed over to the assistant commissioner Bajaur by the law-enforcing agencies after keeping them in illegal custody for three to five years. Interestingly, he argued that the agencies while handing over the detainees to the administration recommended the number of years they ought to be imprisoned as punishment without evidence or mentioning charges against them.

He requested the court to release the detainees on bail as they were languishing in the custody of district administration which no longer had judicial powers after a Peshawar High Court order. Justice Qalandar Ali Khan observed that everyone should follow law of the land as none was above the law. The court wondered as to why the detainees languished in the custody of district administration that had no power to try them. As per the report of law-enforcing agencies presented in the court, three years sentence was recommended for Naseerullah, a grade 6 student picked up by the security agencies on April 8, 2015. Also, 28 years sentence was recommended for Rahimullah apprehended by the agencies in 2015, 21 years for Sanaullah, 20 years for Zahidullah, 14 years for Umar Khitab, eight years for Ziaur Rehman, five years for Kiramatullah, 10 years for Javeedullah, five years for Bashir, seven years for Muhammad Shafiq and two years for Bashir Khan.