ISLAMABAD: The two former police officers sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment in the Benazir murder case by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi filed appeals in Lahore High Court (LHC)’s Rawalpindi bench on Thursday.

Retired additional inspector general Saud Aziz and senior superintendent of police (SSP) Khurram Shehzad filed two identical appeals through their counsel Azam Nazir Tarrar and Raja Ghanim Aabir.

Announcing the verdict in the high-profile murder case on Aug 31, ATC Judge Asghar Ali Khan acquitted five suspects of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The ATC convicted the two police officers for criminal negligence under section 119 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and destroying the evidence under section 201 of the PPC.

Mr Aziz was facing the charge of removing an officer deployed at Liaquat Bagh for the ‘box security’ of the slain PPP leader and sending him to Sadiqabad where a rally of the PML-N had come under attack on December 27, 2007.

He was also accused of not conducting a postmortem on the body of Ms Bhutto.

Mr Shehzad was convicted of washing the crime scene within a couple of hours of the suicide attack on Ms Bhutto which destroyed the evidence that might have led to the real culprits.

In the appeals, the convicted officers, who are currently detained at the Adiala Jail, challenged the sentence on three grounds.

They claimed that there was no evidence of active participation of the convicts in the terrorist attack. The prosecution could not prove any mens rea “the intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime, as opposed to the action or conduct of the accused” against the police officers.

The appellants also contended that section 119 of the PPC could not be invoked against them on the basis of evidence the prosecution had brought to the court record.

A two-member division bench of the LHC is likely to take up the appeals next week.

Meanwhile, the Association of Inspectors General Police at a meeting on Wednesday expressed its concern over the conviction of the two police officers in the Benaizr murder case.

“The convictions, which were extremely harsh, have severely demoralised the police force and expected to badly affect its working and morale. The association resolves to take up the matter at all relevant forums to ensure that justice is meted out to the officers. The association also resolves to provide all possible assistance to the officers in fighting out their cases in higher courts and extend its full support to the officers and their families.”

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2017