PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday acquitted three people after setting aside their conviction by a local an-anti-terrorism court for the murder of an alleged rape victim’s brother outside the Karak tehsil courts.

A bench comprising Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Musarrat Hilali also dismissed a petition of the slain man’s mother against the acquittal police official Hakeem Shah and his brother, Jawed Shah, in the case.

While pronouncing a short order after both the parties completed arguments, the bench said it accepted appeals of Ibrahim Shah and Rehmat Shah, both brothers of Hakeem, Shah, and their associate, Waheed Ahmad, against conviction in the murder case.

The detailed verdict will be announced later.

Petitioner to challenge verdict in apex court

Lawyer for the petitioner Jalal Khan told Dawn that after receiving the detailed judgment, he would file an appeal against it with the Supreme Court as he had a very strong case to plead.

On Nov 11, 2013, an ATC had convicted the three and sentenced them to life imprisonment over the killing of Alamzeb Khan on Dec 9, 2011 near the entrance of tehsil courts in Takht-i-Nusrati, where he had gone to attend court proceedings related to the alleged gang-rape of his sister.

The complainant in the case was Zafran Khan, brother of Alamzeb.

However, his death in a road accident made his mother, Balqaseem Jana, to pursue the case thereafter.

Then Peshawar High Court chief justice Dost Mohammad Khan had taken suo moto notice of the incident and had also directed the police department to include sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 in the FIR of the case.

On the day of the killing, three police officials, including Hakeem shah, who were arrested in the rape case, were produced before the court and it was reported that several police officials and their family members had gathered there and had also staged a demonstration against an additional district and sessions judge who was hearing that case.

Ms Balqaseem Jana and Zafran had alleged that they were witnesses of the occurrence and had seen Ibrahim Shah fire at Alamzeb causing his immediate death.

The alleged rape victim had named around 13 people, including army sepoy Naseebullah, police officers Pir Mohsin Shah, Hakeem Shah and Ameer Mohammad, for being involved in her kidnapping and repeated rape for around a year.

However, all the suspects were acquitted by an ATC on Jan 31, 2013.

Sahibzada Asadullah, lawyer for the convicts, said it was a high profile case and as the police was under pressure they had falsely implicated the appellants in it.

He said there was no evidence on record to prove that the two prime witnesses, the mother and brother of the deceased, were in fact present on the spot at the time of occurrence.

He said there was also conflict in the timing given by the witnesses and the real time of occurrence.

Jalal Khan, lawyer for Ms Balqaseem, said on the order of the high court, an inquiry was conducted by DIG Idrees Khan, which proved that the convicts as well as the two eyewitnesses were present on the spot.

He said when the then chief justice had taken suo moto notice of the occurrence a video related to the issue was screened in the courtroom which proved that the convicts as well as the witnesses were present there.

Mr Jalal contended that on the basis of some minor discrepancies in the evidence the convicts could not be acquitted by the court.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2014