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Updated 06 Sep, 2013 07:22am

Bail plea of gunman’s wife dismissed

ISLAMABAD, Sept 5: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) here on Thursday dismissed the post-arrest bail application of Kanwal, the wife of Mohammad Sikandar, in the Jinnah Avenue stand-off case.

When ATC Judge Atiqur Rehman took up the plea, Kanwal’s counsel Kalsoom Khaliq contended that her client had nothing to do with the August 15 stand-off and should be granted bail.

The lawyer added that it was Kanwal’s husband who resorted to opening fire into the air and created the fiasco.

“Kanwal did nothing wrong as she was under threat and pressure exerted by her husband not to leave the crime scene.”

The counsel argued that under the circumstance she could not be declared as an accomplice of the gunman.

She said even Kanwal didn’t hold guns in her hands but police charged her under the terrorism act which was an injustice.

Kanwal, who is currently in jail, had in her statement earlier claimed that she was unaware of the fact that her husband was carrying arms and ammunition in the car.

She said she along with her children had come to Islamabad on a visit on the request of her husband.

During the proceedings, police presented a video footage of the stand-off as evidence to show the role of Kanwal in it.

Public prosecutor Syed Mohammad Tayab requested the court to dismiss the bail application as the woman was accomplice in the crime.

He argued that Kanwal should not be given benefit of being a woman as she was equally responsible for the fiasco.

Referring to the video footage, the prosecutor pointed out that Kanwal was giving secret signals to some people who might have been in the area during the stand-off.

She may be treated as the principal accused as she was fully involved in the crime along with her husband, the prosecutor added.

After being convinced from the public prosecutor’s argument, the court rejected the bail plea of the accused.

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