PESHAWAR: The Pesha­war High Court has sought comments from federal secretaries of defence and interior on a writ petition filed by a resident of Khyber tribal district seeking diyat (blood money) for the killing of seven of his close family members in a bombing in the Tirah Valley about four years ago.

A two-judge PHC bench comprising Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Abdul Shakoor Khan directed the secretaries to respond to the points raised by petitioner Shameen Khan, a resident of Jamrud, who claimed that his brother, sister-in-law and five nephews had been killed in the bombing by allegedly Pakistan Air Force (PAF) planes on Sept 18 and 19, 2015, in the Rajgal area of Tirah.

The federal government through the secretaries of defence, finance and interior, the Khyber Pakhtun­khwa chief secretary, provincial home secretary, establishment secretary and Khyber deputy commissioner have been named as respondents in the petition.

Advocate Atteequr Rehman, representing the petitioner, argued that his client and his family members were peaceful and law-abiding citizens. He said the family residence of the petitioner and their neighbours had been allegedly bombed by the PAF planes at midnight in which his brother Samtar Gul, his wife and five children had been killed, while his client had suffered injuries.

The counsel said his client’s residence had been destroyed and several cattle head killed, adding that the attack had been carried out when the petitioner and family members were asleep. He claimed that the bombing had been carried out without proper identification and inquiry about the presence of terrorists in the area, contending that the killings amo­u­nted to Qatl-i-Amd (inten­t­ional murder) covered under penal sections of the law.

The counsel pointed out that then political agent had ordered payment of compensation to the tune of Rs300,000 for each dece­ased, while nothing had been given in lieu of damage caused to the house and cattle head. He argued that the government was duty bound and it was constitutional obligation of the state to safeguard the life and liberty of the people of Pakistan before making such an attack against militants or any evil forces.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2019