KARACHI, May 19: Three suspects were on Saturday remanded in police custody by a judicial magistrate for keeping explosive substance and illicit weapons.

The suspects — Sikandar Ali, Sajid Ali and Mohammad Anwar — were apprehended by Pakistan Rangers, Sindh a couple of days back in Bin Qasim. Later, a case (FIR 95/12) was registered against them under Section 3/4 of the Explosive Substance Act read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 on behalf of the state at the Bin Qasim police station. They were also individually booked under Section 13-D of the Arms Ordinance.

On Saturday, the police brought the three suspects before an anti-terrorism court for remand. However, the public prosecutor, Abdul Maroof, asked the IO, Inspector Ghulam Mujtaba, to replace Section 3/4 with Section 4/5 of the Explosive Substance Act since the explosives in question were not exploded. As the offences did no fall within the ambit of the ATA, 1997 the prosecutor asked the IO to produce the suspects before the court of a judicial magistrate for remand.

Later, a judicial magistrate (Malir) remanded the suspects in police custody till May 24.

Recently, on a request of a prosecutor an anti-terrorism court had transferred 18 cases to regular courts since these cases did not attract the relevant section of the ATA.

The prosecutor had informed the court that the suspects were booked for allegedly carrying unlicensed weapons, explosive stuff and encounters, but neither these cases were attracting Section 6 of the ATA nor the weapons or explosive material allegedly recovered from them were used in any act of terrorism or connected with any other case of terrorism.