PESHAWAR, April 21: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday directed the provincial home department to file comments within a week on a writ petition challenging detention of Maulana Sufi Muhammad
, chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammad.
A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Qaim Jan Khan directed that the comments should be positively filed within a week. The writ petition was filed in December last year jointly by a former MNA Jawed Ibraheem Paracha and a relative of Sufi Muhammad, Manzoorullah, praying the high court to declare the detention of Maulana Sufi Muhammad illegal.
Maulana Sufi Muhammad and his 28 supporters were convicted by the assistant political agent (APA) Kurram Agency on March 30, 2002, in his capacity as additional district and sessions judge. They were sentenced on three counts to seven years' rigorous imprisonment.
The petitioners stated that except Maulana Sufi Muhammad, the remaining convicts had filed revision petitions before the FCR (Frontier Crimes Regulations) Tribunal and their appeals were accepted on Feb 1, 2003. They added that the tribunal comprising the provincial home and law secretaries had ordered release of the said 28 members of TNSM.
An additional secretary of home department, Fazalur Rehman, appeared before the court and sought time for submitting comments. Advocate Qazi Muhammad Anwer appeared for the petitioners and contended that Maulana Sufi was convicted on same charges as his other companions and he deserved to be released from prison.
The bench inquired what was the locus standi of the two petitioners when the convict had himself not moved the high court. Mr Anwer referred to the case of Agha Shorash Kashmiri and stated that when he was convicted, appeal was not filed by him, rather it was someone else who filed it.
The court also inquired that when legal forums were available with the convict under the FCR to file appeal and revision petition against the judgment of the APA, why he did not avail (himself of) any of the available options.
The petitioners' counsel contended that it was the stand of Maulana Sufi Muhammad that as he had not committed any crime on Pakistani soil, therefore he would not file an appeal.
The respondents in the petition are the government of NWFP through home secretary, Inspector General of Prisons, NWFP, Superintendent of DI Khan central prison and APA, Kurram Agency.
Maulana Sufi Muhammad and his supporters belonging to TNSM, which was declared a terrorist outfit in early 2002, had gone to Afghanistan to fight against the American forces and were arrested while returning back to Pakistan.
They were convicted on three counts: carrying explosive substances and lethal weapons; display of heavy weaponry; and, illegal entry into Pakistan from Afghanistan.
They were sentenced to five years' imprisonment under section 4/5 of the Explosive Substance Act for carrying explosives and arms. Moreover, they were sentenced to one year's imprisonment for illegal entry into Pakistan under the Passport Act and one year each under the FCR. The APA had ordered that their sentences should run consecutively.
