Court drops terror charges against suspects

PESHAWAR: The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) has absolved two suspected militants of terrorism charges after the prosecution failed to prove it. The ATC judge, Salim Jan, acquitted Muhammad Wazir, a resident of Muridke (Punjab), and Sher Khan, a resident of Afghanistan.
The lawyer for the appellants, Khizar Hayat Khazana, submitted before the court that the Counter-Terrorism Department had arrested the accused on January 28 and then charged them with possessing 11kg explosive material, four detonators and five remote controls.
The lawyer submitted that during the custody, the CTD failed to prove charges against the accused as no evidence was brought on record against them.Furthermore, he stated that there was contradiction in the statements of the official witnesses. After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge issued order about acquittal of the accused.