KARACHI: An antiterrorism court (ATC) dismissed on Thursday a bail application moved by an alleged member of a banned outfit in a case pertaining to alleged collection of funds for financing terrorism.

Said to be associated with the banned outfit Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), Shafique aka Abu Umar has been charged with collecting funds meant to be allegedly used for terror financing from Malir.

On Thursday, the matter came up before the ATC-XVI judge, who is conducting trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison. He dismissed the bail plea as the defence counsel for the accused did not press it.

The judge fixed the matter for recording statement of the accused under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code on the next date of hearing.

According to the prosecution, the Counter-Terrorism Dep­artment (CTD) officials arres­ted Shafique while collecting funds on a receipt book of the JuD in Nov 2019 in Malir. It also alleged that around Rs2,400 amount of the charity fund collected from citizens was recovered from his possession along with the receipt book.

Earlier, state prosecutor Mohammad Raza opposed the bail plea, arguing that the funds and receipt book was duly seized from the applicant, adding that it had also transpired that the same was meant to be used for anti-social activities, thus falling within the meaning of collecting funds for terror financing.

During the course of trial, he said, the investigating officer also submitted details of the schools, hospitals and madressahs reportedly run by the organisation in the metropolis, adding that charge had already been framed against the accused, thus he was not entitled to any concession of post-arrest bail.

The defence counsel argued that the prosecution had failed to establish any link of the applicant with the banned outfit, adding that the CTD framed his client in a fake case since neither any recovery was made from the applicant nor the prosecution had proved that the money was meant to be used for terror-financing or any other anti-social activity. Therefore, he pleaded to the court to grant bail to the applicant, who was behind bars since Nov 1, 2019.

A case was lodged under sections 11-H and 11-N — pertaining to alleged collection of funds meant for terror financing — of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the CTD Malir.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2020