PESHAWAR, Dec 5: A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court here on Wednesday commuted prison sentences of two women convicted of drug pushing.

The Naseem and Rehana, both residents of Lahore, were convicted by the district and sessions judge, Kohat, and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each with a fine of Rs100,000.

The high court’s bench comprising Justice Tariq Pervaiz and Justice Abdur Rauf Lughmani commuted their prison term to five years each with fine of Rs 50,000.

The two appellants were arrested on Aug 27, 2001, on Kohat- Bannu road by the officials of Lachi police station. The officials claimed they acted on a tip-off that two women and man drug traffickers would try to smuggle narcotics to Punjab and they would be travelling in a passenger coach.

The police claimed when they spotted the concerned vehicle they asked the two women and the man named Muhammad Azam to step out of the coach and during they recovered narcotics from their possession.

The female-appellants had earlier pleaded guilty following which they were convicted by the trial court. Chairman, The Voice of Prisoners, Noor Alam ,Khan appeared for the appellants and requested the court to extend leniency towards the appellants as they had been imprisoned with their children.

The court observed that no appeal could be filed by a convict who had pleaded guilty. The counsel argued that as both women were illiterate, therefore, they were not aware of such technicalities.

Khan argued that the man had not pleaded guilty and was acquitted by court as the police could not produced the case properly.

On the same touchstone, he argued, the women should also be acquitted.