PESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court has acquitted an accused arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) over two years ago on charges of carrying a huge quantity of explosives on a motorcycle.

The court pronounced that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against the accused, Akhter Muhammad, a resident of Dara Adamkhel tribal subdivision of the Kohat district, and evidence on the record did not connect him with the commission of the offence.

The CTD had registered an FIR on April 2, 2018, after it had seized a motorcycle and recovered explosive material from it.

The CTD had claimed that two persons were riding the motorcycle and that they managed to escape from the scene of the occurrence.

Subsequently, the present accused was arrested as the CTD claimed that he was owner of the motorcycle. He was charged under section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and section 5 of the Explosive Substance Act.

Advocates Sahibzada Riazatul Haq and Batool Rafaqat appeared for the defence and contended that the prosecution case was full of contradictions.

They pointed out that there were glaring contradictions in evidence recorded by different prosecution witnesses as to who had taken the recovery memo, which was prepared at the place of the occurrence, to the police station, and what was his mode of transportation.

They contended that the motorcycle used in the offence was stolen a day prior to the occurrence, about which the accused had also lodged a complaint with the then assistant political agent of Dara Adamkhel.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2020