Remand increased for 9 accused, others sent to Mansehra jail

Detained persons’ family members protested outside court on hearing day.

ABBOTTABAD: The anti-terrorism court gave nine accused of the Makol Payeen girl burning case in remand to the joint investigation team for another seven days for further interrogation. The remaining five were sent on a judicial remand to Mansehra district jail. The detained person’s family members protested outside the court, accusing the police of protecting the real culprits.

The accused were brought before judge Raja Masood, of the anti-terrorism court on Friday under tight security. However, when the accused were produced before the court, their family members, most of them women and children, protested outside the court.

Up in arms

The protesting family members accused the police of implicating their relatives in a fake case in order to “save the skin of the actual culprits”. The protesters also accused the police of subjecting their relatives to third degree torture so that the latter confess to a crime they believed they did not commit.



The agitated family members demanded the court set the detained persons free and start a judicial enquiry into the case so that the real culprits could be nabbed.

The protesters also blocked Karakoram Highway for a few minutes, suspending traffic on the busy thoroughfare. However, the police managed to disperse them.

Four women and the same number of men were also arrested, but the women were later set free while the men remained detained and a criminal case was registered against them.

When approached, the Cantonment police did not share the names of the arrested protesters.

In solidarity

K-P Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser also attended the session and spoke to the media after the court proceeding. Qaiser said he would support the family of the deceased girl in order to take the culprits to task.

The girl was burnt on April 29. Her body was recovered from a burnt high-roof van. As per the police, she was strangled to death and later set on fire following the decision of a jirga.

The jirga had announced that the girl be punished for allegedly helping another girl Iqra* elope. However, family members of the accused have been denying their involvement, accusing the police of implicating the detained persons in a fake case.

Arrests and remands

The police had arrested 15 members of a jirga and mother of the victim on May 4 and took them before an anti-terrorism court in Abbottabad on May 5. They accused were sent of a 14-day remand.

However, the court later extended their remand for seven days, starting May 19. One of the accused, the victim’s mother was released on bail while the remaining 14 remained on a physical remand with a joint investigation team of the police and counter-terrorism departments.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2016.