PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Monday set aside the conviction of two people by an anti-terrorism court on militancy charges and acquitted them in a case of carrying suicide vests and explosives.

While ordering the release of the two, Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Ibrahim Khan observed that the prosecution failed to prove charges against Mujahid Khan and Noor Gulab.

The appellants were arrested last year by the police in the jurisdiction of Paharipura police station.Few months ago, an anti-terrorism court had convicted them on militancy charges and sentenced them to 14 years rigorous imprisonment and Rs5,000 fine each.

Saeed Khan, lawyer for the appellants, claimed the entire case of the police was fabricated and full of contradictions.

He said the prosecution claimed his clients were arrested on Aug 14, 2015, wearing jackets, which were packed with15 hand grenades and explosives.

The lawyer said the prosecution asserted that the appellants belonged to a banned militant outfit.

He said the prosecution had abandoned all those persons, which it had claimed as prime witnesses in the case, and were not presented before the trial court for recording their evidence.

The lawyer said the police didn’t produce two jackets in question claiming they’re destroyed in the presence of a magistrate.

He however said the magistrate was later abandoned and wasn’t produced before the trial court.

The lawyer said bomb disposal unit officials, who had allegedly defused hand grenades, and the official under whose supervision explosives were destroyed, were also not produced before the trial court.

He said the two appellants were taken into custody by law-enforcement agencies few months before the alleged incident took place and that they’re later implicated in the ‘fake’ case.

The lawyer said the relevant police officials had also recorded contradictory statements proving that the case was concocted.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2016