ABBOTTABAD: Peshawar High Court (PHC) Abbottabad Bench has set aside an order of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), Abbottabad bench, which had denied further police remand of the accused in the murder case of Dr Warda, holding that the trial court failed to properly apply the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.

The judgment was announced on January 26, 2026, by Justice Aurangzeb while allowing a criminal revision petition filed by the state against the ATC’s order.

The case relates to FIR No. 1265 dated December 5, 2025, registered at Police Station Cantt Abbottabad under sections 364, 302, 201, 202 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. The FIR was lodged by Mushtaq Ahmed, father of the deceased Dr Warda, aged about 40 years.

In its detailed judgment, the high court observed that the case involved the brutal killing of an innocent woman and was based on circumstantial evidence requiring specialised and technical investigation, including forensic and connectivity analysis.

The court noted that the investigating officer had satisfactorily explained the utilization of the remand periods and that meaningful progress had been made during each remand.

The court criticised the ATC for relying solely on Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code, applicable to ordinary criminal cases, and for ignoring Section 21-E of the Anti-Terrorism Act, which specifically governs remand in scheduled offences. It observed that the ATA can allow police remand of up to 30 days at a time, extendable up to a total of 90 days, subject to legal safeguards.

Allowing the State’s petition, the high court set aside the impugned ATC orders and directed the trial court to grant police custody of the accused strictly in accordance with law and the circumstances of the case.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2026