PESHAWAR, Dec 20: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday allowed pre-arrest bail to a police officer involved in a case in which a person had been killed in a fake encounter.

Malik Saad, who is serving on deputation as director-general of city municipal and development department, was included in the panel of accused when the crimes branch registered an FIR on the directives of the high court.

A division bench comprising Justice Tariq Pervaiz and Justice Ijazul Hassan directed Malik Saad to furnish two sureties of Rs50,000 each. The bench admitted to full hearing the writ petition filed by him and issued notice to respondents, including the inspector-general of police and deputy inspector-general of crimes branch.

Through the writ petition, Malik Saad challenged his nomination in the panel of accused. They faced the charge of killing Ali Haider in the encounter took place in the Buner district.

A few days back the high court had directed the crimes branch to register the FIR against a DSP and three SHOs in the case. The bench had exonerated Malik Saad, who was SSP of Peshawar at the time of encounter, of the charges on the grounds that neither did he accompany the raiding party which had killed Ali Haider nor could his presence in the place of encounter be proved.

Advocates Sattar Khan and Nusrat Yasmeen appeared for the petitioner and contended that the DIG of crimes branch had acted with ulterior motives could be judged from the fact that in sheer disregard to the court orders he had nominated the petitioner in the panel of accused.

The petitioner claimed that after a robbery committed in Gulbahar locality on May 4, 2000, a person, Mohammad Ayub, had been arrested. Ayub, the petitioner said, claimed that their ringleader was Ali Haider and added that a raiding party had visited Buner to arrest Ali Haider, but he opened fire on the police party. During the crossfire, he said, Ali haider was killed.

Later, Ali Haider’s mother filed a writ petition seeking registration of an FIR against Malik Saad, DSP Gul Afzal and three SHOs. The high court accepted her petition, directing that the FIR should be registered against the police officials except Malik Saad.