PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has disposed of a petition seeking contempt proceedings against several state functionaries over the escape of former spokesman for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Ehsanullah Ehsan, declaring it accepts the federal government’s denial of any role in his escape from custody.

A bench consisting of Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Ijaz Anwar Khan was informed by additional attorney general Qazi Babar Irshad that the government had been making efforts to arrest terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan.

“On the question regarding facilitation and providing opportunity to the said terrorist to make good his escape, it is stated at the bar that respondents are employing all means to arrest the said terrorist whenever they find any clue about him and there is no role of the respondents in the escape of the said terrorist.

Disposes of contempt plea against state functionaries

“When such is the position of the case, we see no reasons to continue with the contempt petition,” the bench ruled.

The petition was filed by lawyer Fazal Khan, whose son was martyred in the 2014 Army Public School TTP attack.

The petitioner contended that the respondents had blatantly violated the directions given to them in an earlier petition filed by him against alleged plan of the then government to give clemency to Ehsanullah Ehsan, who had surrendered to an intelligence agency in Apr 2017.

He requested the court to initiate contempt proceedings against them for not implementing its orders for the trial of Ehsanullah Ehsan.

The respondents in the petition are the chief of army staff (COAS), ISI director general, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, and federal interior, defence and law secretaries.

On Feb 6, an audio message purportedly of Ehsanullah Ehsan surfaced on social media wherein he claimed that he had escaped from custody of security forces. Before his surrender Ehsanullah Ehsan was affiliated with another proscribed organization Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of TTP.

Barrister Amirullah Khan Chamkani appeared for the petitioner, while the federal and provincial governments were represented by additional attorney general Qazi Babar Irshad and additional advocate general Atif Ali Khan, respectively.

Barrister Amirullah said on Apr 25, 2018, a high court bench had disposed of the earlier petition of Fazal Khan after a deputy attorney general had assured the court that the government had no plan to give clemency to Ehsanullah.

He said his client was surprised when Ehsanullah, after his surrender was portrayed by the agencies as an unaware, innocent and brainwashed man who had inadvertently masterminded terrorist activities in the province.

The lawyer said the government had then claimed that presently Ehsanullah was under investigation and would be tried subsequently by a military court.

He said the court had then ordered that Ehsanullah Ehsan should not be set free without completion of his trial.

The lawyer said it had come to limelight that instead of trying Ehsanullah he was provided a luxurious home from which he had made good his escape.

He said the terrorist was provided opportunity to escape from custody with the active connivance of the government agencies and he was never tried, which was in violation of the court’s order.

In the judgment, the bench observed that it had sought records, so a report was produced on behalf of the defence secretary clarifying that that terrorist along with others were required to be tried by military courts in view of the amendments introduced on Jan 7, 2015, by parliament.

However, the said legislation was for a limited period and by the operation of law, the military courts ceased to exist after Jan 7, 2019, as such there was no occasion that that terrorist could be tried.

“The representative of the respondents also produced certain confidential letters which shows necessary sanction was sought from the federal government for trial of these terrorists in military courts and before any sanction is received, the said law empowering military courts has reached to its natural death,” the bench ruled.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2020