PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday directed the defence ministry to explain in clear terms whether any clemency has been offered to a former spokesman for banned militant outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Ehsanullah Ehsan, and under what law, the government is going to proceed against him.

Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ijaz Anwar expressed dissatisfaction with the brief comments earlier filed on behalf of the defence ministry on a petition, which challenged the alleged government plan to give clemency to Ehsanullah Ehsan and sought better comments clearly explaining the government’s position on the matter.

Last month, the attorney general’s office had filed brief comments saying investigation and operations based on the revelations of Ehsanullah Ehsan are under process and therefore, the petition should be dismissed.

The bench was hearing the petition of Fazal Khan, father of one of many Peshawar Army Public School students, who were killed by the TTP militants during the 2014 attack on campus.

Also inquires about the law under which Ehsanullah Ehsan is facing action

The petitioner, whose son Sahibzada Umar Khan was killed in the APS attack, requested the court to direct the respondents, including the federal government, to refrain from giving clemency to Ehsanullah Ehsan.

He prayed the court to order the speedy trial of Ehsanullah by a military court and that petitioner being a person affected by the 2014 carnage be formally informed about the conclusion of the trial thereafter.

The respondents in the petition are the federal government through interior secretary, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through chief secretary, defence ministry through defence secretary, Inter-Services Intelligence director general, chief of the army staff, and law and human rights ministry through its secretary.

Barrister Amirullah Khan Chamkani representing the petitioner contended that the respondent (ministry of defence) had filed evasive comments wherein it was neither denied nor accepted that the government had been giving clemency to Ehsanullah Ehsan.

He said since the government had not categorically denied the assertions made by his client, it meant that those were correct.

The lawyer said the government had made public in April this year that Ehsanullah Ehsan had surrendered to it and since then, they had been investigating him but no charge had so far been brought against him.

He added that the respondents should come up with a clear reply to the petition.

Barrister Amirullah said 148 students and staff members, including eighth grader, a son of the petitioner, had lost lives in the Dec 16, 2014, APS attack.

The petitioner in his petition claimed that after a long period of almost three years, one of the masterminds of the APS attack, Ehsanullah Ehsan alias Tariq, had surrendered or had been captured by the law-enforcement agencies, which had given some hope to him (petitioner) that the perpetrators of the APS incident would be brought to justice.

He said unfortunately to his utmost surprise and disappointment, Ehsanullah Ehsanfar from being brought to justice was being portrayed as an ‘unaware, innocent and brainwashed’ man, who had inadvertently masterminded many terrorist activities in the country, particularly in KP.

The petitioner added that it was reported in the media that clemency was on the cards for Ehsanullah Ehsan for his ‘full and frank disclosure.’

He said the possible government move was not only highly deplorable but also illegal and unconstitutional.

The petitioner said under the Qisas and Diyat laws, it was exclusively for the wali (legal heir) to forgive an accused person, and in that particular case, the state not being the wali had no legal authority to forgive an accused nor had the respondents fulfilled their legal duty in providing security to the 148 children martyred in the APS attack.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2017