PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has granted bail to two suspects arrested by counter-terrorism department (CTD) on charges of collecting donations and distributing propaganda material for a banned outfit.

A single-member bench consisting of Justice Sahibzada Asadullah accepted pleas of the two suspects named Mian Mohammad and Masood on condition of furnishing two bail bonds of Rs200,000 each.

The CTD had registered an FIR against the petitioners on August 7, 2023, under sections 11-W, 11-N, 11-F (2), 11-OOO and 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act and Section 120-B of Pakistan Penal Code.

Sirajuddin Khan, a sub-inspector of CTD, was complainant in the case, claiming that the two persons were collecting donations for the proscribed organisation Daesh (IS) and were also distributing pamphlets aimed at instigating people against security forces and urging them to join their organisation.

Prosecution failed to record statement of independent witness, bench observes

He alleged that a raiding team visited the spot and arrested the two suspects, who were also wearing P-caps of the proscribed so-called Islamic State (Daesh).

He added that the objectionable pamphlets were also recovered from the possession of suspects.

Advocates Abdur Rehman and Malik Akhter Hussain appeared for the petitioners and contended that their clients were implicated in a fake case by CTD.

They argued that no independent witness was associated in the case by the CTD officials despite the fact that the place from where they claimed to have arrested the petitioners was a busy spot near University Road in Peshawar.

Abdur Rehman pointed out that the complainant claimed that the petitioners were also carrying a donation box. He said that it was a childish allegation as to how a member of a proscribed organisation would be openly carrying a donation box.

The bench observed that as the prosecution failed to record the statement of independent witness and nobody complained against the petitioners about instigating people of the area and nothing incriminating was collected from the premises to have been distributed by the petitioners, so the case called for further inquiry.

The bench further observed that at bail stage tentative assessment was warranted and deeper appreciation of evidence was not permitted, but it was also important that for determination of bail applications, the attending circumstances of the case, more particularly, the collected material must be taken into consideration as bail applications could not be decided in vacuum.

The bench observed that the petitioners succeeded in making out a case for the indulgence of the court.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2023