RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) of Rawalpindi on Saturday awarded life imprisonment to two persons for kidnapping a 12-year-old boy for ransom.

ATC Judge Shaukat Kamal Dar convicted Allama Iqbal and Nauman Khan for kidnapping the boy Usman Khan from the vicinity of Naseer Abad police station.

The FIR was registered on the complaint of Usman Khan’s mother Aneesa Bibi.

She in the FIR said her son Usman went to the local market at 10am on December 16, last year but never returned.

According to the FIR, she received a call from the kidnappers for ransom. However, her son managed to return home.

The deputy prosecutor general, Tahir Kazim, informed the court that the abductors forcibly took the boy into an under-construction house and molested him.

While the prosecution argued that the case fell within the ambit of the Anti -Terrorism Act (ATA), the judge observed that “as far as the case of both the accused to the extent of section 7 of ATA is concerned, there is nothing on record that they had committed offence of kidnapping for ransom to fund for terrorism or the money taken by them as ransom used for the act of terrorism.

“Therefore, in my view, section 7 of ATA is not attracted in this case.”

However, the judge noted: “the prosecution has proved its case against the accused beyond any shadow of doubt to the extent of offence of kidnapping for ransom, therefore, they are convicted under section 365-A of the Pakistan Penal Code.”

The court also imposed Rs50,000 fine on each of the convict and held that in case of default in payment of compensation, the accused will further undergo for six months imprisonment.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2021