PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench has ordered the release of a suspected militant after setting aside his conviction by a lower court on the charges of attacking law-enforcement agencies, conveys of Nato containers and anti-polio workers, and extorting money from the people.

Justice Ikramullah Khan pronounced that the prosecution didn’t prove its case against the appellant, Ishaq Khan alias Thora Shpa.

The appellant was convicted last year by the assistant political agent of Mohmand Agency (now tribal district), in his capacity as additional district magistrate, and had sentenced him on multiple counts to a total of 31 years rigorous imprisonment and Rs500,000 fine.

Rules prosecution fails to prove attack, extortion charges

Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, lawyer for the appellant, said the evidence on record clearly proved that the appellant was taken into custody by an intelligence agency in 2012 and was kept in illegal detention for five years.

He said he was later handed over to the administration of Mohmand tribal district in 2017.

The lawyer said the appellant was tried by the APA on the charges of attacking security forces, Nato conveys and anti-polio workers, and extorting money from people.

He said on the basis of a report of a joint investigation team, a so-called jirga formed under the Frontier Crimes Regulation declared that his client was guilty of those offences.

The lawyer, however, said no evidence was presented against the appellant and that merely a JIT report was based for the conviction.

He said the FCR commissioner had also upheld the judgment of the tribal administration.

BAIL GRANTED: Two anti-terrorism courts on Thursday granted bail to a suspected militant, Saad alias Farooq, in separate cases of deadly attacks on police patrols.

The judges accepted the suspect’s bail pleas and ordered his release on the production of two surety bonds of Rs200,000 each.

The police claimed that the petitioner belonged to a Bara based banned outfit and he was charged in two cases registered at Pishtakhara police station on July 20, 2009, and Dec 4, 2009.

The police patrolling vehicles were attacked by militants, which had left six personnel, including two sub-inspectors, dead.

The government had also announced a head money of Rs500,000 for the petitioner, who had allegedly been absconding after the militant attacks. He was subsequently transferred from the UAE with the help of Interpol in June 2018.

The petitioner’s lawyer said his client was entitled to the concession of bail in the absence of any direct evidence.

He said the police also failed to prove any link between his client and any banned outfit. The lawyer added that the petitioner couldn’t kept behind bars merely on basis of rumours.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018