RAWALPINDI, May 24: Special Judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court No 1, Tariq Abbasi here on Thursday put off the hearing of Shazia Mubashir’s petition till June 2.

Shazia was arrested in connection with the December 25, 2003 suicide attacks on President Gen Pervez Musharraf at Rawalpindi in which fifteen people, mostly security personnel, were killed.

In his petition, Defence Counsel Mohammad Akram said as Shazia had already been tried by a military court under the army act along with eight men, she could not be tried again.

The army court convicted the eight other members of the group, including Shazia’s husband Rana Naveed, but acquitted her. A separate case was filed against her in the anti-terrorism court in August 2005.

Police could not complete and present the challan till August 2006, when her lawyers filed a petition for her release. In January this year, her lawyers also moved the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench seeking her acquittal citing the verdict of the army court. The LHC asked the assistant advocate general Punjab to produce the verdict of the army court. According to the copy of the verdict presented in the court on May 10, Shazia was absolved of the charges by the army court. However, the advocate general maintained that the accused had been acquitted only of the sedition charge and could be tried for other charges under the anti-terrorist act.

At this, her lawyers withdrew the petition saying they wanted to add more points.

On Thursday, Muhammad Akram Advocate maintained before the ATC that her client had not only been absolved of the sedition charge but of all other charges. The other charges included murder, use of explosive devices, causing injuries and terrorism.