PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench has summoned the counter-terrorism department’s DSP (investigation) along with the relevant records over a plea of the father of a student martyred in the 2014 Peshawar Army Public School carnage that his statement be recorded by the agency probing the killings.

Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Roohul Amin Khan issued the directives after additional advocate general Qaisar Ali Shah objected to the plea, saying the investigation into the case has already been completed and therefore, the petitioner’s statement can’t be recorded.

The bench directed the DSP (investigation) to appear before the court along with the case records on the next hearing, whose schedule will be announced later.

Petitioner Fazal Khan, father of slain student Umar Khan, made certain pleas, including the order for the inclusion of the provisions of the law related to criminal negligence in the APS attack FIR registered at the CTD police station.

APS student’s father had sought PHC order for probing agency to record his statement

He said he had gone to the CTD police station several times to record statement in the case but to no avail.

His lawyer, Qazi Mohammad Anwar, said his client had requested that his statement may be recorded by the investigation agency regarding the occurrence.

He added that despite his client’s requests, the relevant probing agencies had not recorded his statement just because he held several senior officials responsible for the carnage.

Advocate general Abdul Lateef Yousafzai and AAG Qaisar Ali Shah, who appeared for the government, said investigation into the case had already been completed and therefore, the statement of the petitioner couldn’t be recorded.

The bench observed it would be appropriate to summon the CTD DSP (investigation) to ascertain the status of the investigation into the case.

Meanwhile, the bench also adjourned hearing into another petition filed by slain APS student Asfand Khan’s father, advocate Ajun Khan, who sought orders for the federal and provincial governments to make public all information related to the 2014 campus carnage and the actions taken by them in light of the Aug 2014 alert about the school attack.

The petitioner said the APS attack had killed 144 people, including 132 students, and therefore, a judicial inquiry should be conducted into it to fix responsibility of negligence.

He claimed the National Counter-Terrorism Authority had formally informed the provincial government and Fata additional chief secretary on Aug 28, 2014, that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s commander in collaboration with other terrorists had planned to carry out terrorist activities against APS and other educational institutions run by the Pakistan Army to kill the maximum number of children of the army officers and soldiers to avenge the killing of their accomplices.

The petitioner said after that communication, it was the fundamental right of the students and their parents to know about the possible attack and that the non-communication of that information amounted to the violation of fundamental rights of the parents, including him.

He added that necessary action to counter the threat was not taken by the administration.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2017