PESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court here on Friday acquitted four accused persons arrested by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) last year on charges of distributing anti-state pamphlets among the public propagating Al-Qaeda ideology.

The judge Mehmoodul Hassan pronounced that the prosecution could not prove its case against the accused persons -- Tayyab, Anas, Attaullah and Akber Shah -- and the evidence on record did not connect them with the commission of the offence.

The prosecution had claimed that on March 17, 2016, the CTD had received information that some persons had been distributing pamphlets near the Tableeghi Markaz. It was alleged that a team of CTD raided the area and arrested the four accused while they were busy in distributing anti-state and anti-army pamphlets.

The prosecution claimed that in the said pamphlets the ideology of Al-Qaeda was promoted and general public was asked to take revenge of the killing of Osama bin Laden from Pak Army.

The accused were charged under section 11 W and 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act and section 120-B and 124-A of PPC.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2017