PESHAWAR: A single-member Peshawar High Court bench has granted bail to a man suspected of waging war against the state and carrying out terrorist activities.

Justice Mussarat Hilali accepted the bail petition of the accused, Arshad Khan, a resident of Jamrud in Khyber tribal district, asking him to produce two surety bonds of Rs200,000 each.

The petitioner was taken into custody by the security forces in Oct 2016 and was kept in detention under the Action (in aid of civil power) Regulation, 2011.

He was handed over to the administration of Khyber tribal district on Oct 22, 2018 and was charged under Pakistan Penal Code’s Section 121 (waging war against the state) and Section 122 (raising arms against the state), and Section 17 of the Action (in aid of civil power) Regulation, 2011.

His bail petition was rejected by an anti-terrorism court.

The petitioner’s counsel, Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, said while his client was handed over to Khyber region’s administration, the security forces had provided a report of a joint investigation team (JIT) levelling several charges against him, including attacks on security forces and beheading of the members of peace committee.

He said though the security agencies didn’t provide any evidence regarding the involvement of the petitioner in acts of terrorism, they recommended award of 48 years imprisonment to him. The lawyer said not a single piece of evidence could be produced against the petitioner except the so-called report of JIT, which could not be relied upon.

Mr Shabbir Gigyani questioned how a person could be kept imprisoned merely on the basis of a report not backed by evidence.

Also, the bench granted bail to a man charged by the counter terrorism department with possessing two hand grenades, a four kilogrammes improvised explosive device, safety fuses, and detonators. It directed the petitioner, Waseem Khan, to furnish two surety bonds valuing Rs100,000 each.

The petitioner’s counsel said his client was implicated in a fake case by the CTD and that he went missing after being held by law-enforcement agencies in Lahore in Feb 2019.

He said the petitioner’s father had also lodged an FIR at a Lahore police station accusing security forces of keeping his son in illegal detention. The lawyer said the petitioner was later handed over to the CTD, which registered the fake case against him at Mardan on Apr 24, 2019.

He said his client was a ‘missing person’ before he was accused of possessing explosives.

The lawyer said there’s no evidence on record to connect the petitioner with the commission of the so-called offence.

He wondered how a person, who was in the custody of law-enforcement agencies, could be apprehended with explosives.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2019