LAHORE: The Punjab government has finally sent seven terrorism cases, the most prominent among them being the one involving attack on a Sri Lankan cricket team, to the federal government for trial in military courts, according to sources.

Last month the provincial government had selected 46 cases pending in anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) for trial in the military courts. But by Wednesday the figure had declined to 10 because a majority of the cases had either been decided by the ATCs or rejected by the provincial apex committee headed by the chief minister.

Know more: ATCs show unusual alacrity in terror convictions

Two of the 10 cases, including one about the killing of 10 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa jail wardens in Lahore, were decided by an ATC on Wednesday. Another case was not considered fit for transfer to the military courts by the apex committee the same day.

The cases finally recommended for trial in military courts include the one about the March 3, 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore. Seven policemen were killed and some Sri Lankan cricketers injured in the attack.

Eight people have been accused in the case, five of whom, including Malik Ishaq, are on bail. Another prime accused in the case, Dr Usman, has been hanged in the 2009 GHQ attack case.

The second case selected for trial in the summary courts is about the January 17, 2014 explosion in the Khushhal Khan Khattak Express train at Kotla Hassan Shah, near Rajanpur. The explosion caused derailment of several bogies of the train and the death of three people.

The third case pertains to the murder of Syed Waqar Hussain, manager of a Soneri Bank branch in Lahore, on Feb 11, 2013. The accused include Rafiullah and Abdur Rauf Gujjar.

Gujjar is also involved in three other cases included in the list of cases selected for trial in the military courts.

The fourth case is about the March 10, 2014 attack on television anchor Raza Rumi in Lahore. The accused include Gujjar, Hashim, Salman Pathan and Shafqat.

The fifth case involves the Oct 19, 2012 murder in Lahore of Syed Shakir Ali Rizvi. Gujjar is the accused.

The sixth case pertains to the Aug 28, 2013 murder of Advocate Syed Arshad in Lahore. Gujjar is again the main accused, along with Shabbir Shah.

The seventh case is about the killing of 16 people in a bomb blast during a procession taken out to mark the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain in Bahawalpur on Jan 15, 2012.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2015

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