PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench has stayed the execution of a terror convict by suspending the sentence of death awarded to him by a military court.

Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani and Justice Syed Afsar Shah issued notice to the defence ministry asking it to produce the records of the case of the convict, Izzat Khan, a resident of Shamozai area in Swat, whose wife Nargis Bano has filed a petition challenging his conviction.

The petitioner has claimed that her husband surrendered to the security forces on Apr 11, 2010, and since then he had been in their custody.

She claimed that her husband was innocent and that his trial by the military court wasn’t fair.

The bench fixed May 22 for next hearing of the case.

Asks ministry to produce records of terrorism case

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan Army, had on May 5, 2018, announced the sentences of death awarded to 11 terrorists including Izzat Khan and the confirmation of their sentences by the Chief of Army Staff.

The ISPR has claimed that the convict was a member of proscribed organisation.

It was added that he was involved in the killing of innocent civilians and attacking Armed Forces of Pakistan as well as Malakand University, which had resulted in the death of a civilian, four police officials and injuries to seven others.

It was stated that the convict was also involved in destruction of three different educational institutions. It was added that the convict had also confessed his offences before the judicial magistrate and the trial court.

Mohammad Arif Jan, lawyer for the petitioner, said the convict was handed over to the security forces in 2010 on the demand of the forces and that the family was also given a certificate about his surrender to the forces.

He said the family was told that he would be set free in few days.

The lawyer however said the convict was first kept at an internment centre in Lakki Marwat and was later shifted to another such centre in Swat. He said the convict’s family was first given visitation rights at the Swat centre but around eight months ago, it was not allowed to meet him.

The lawyer said the family members including the petitioner came to know about his conviction through media.

Arif Jan claimed that despite their requests, the authorities concerned had not been providing them with the case records so that they could know under what charges he had been tried.

He said the convict was not provided a fair trial and even not permitted to hire a counsel of his choice.

The lawyer said the convict had no affiliation with any terrorist outfit and was falsely implicated in the instant case.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2018