Suspects in Rangers’ killing to be tried by military courts

Accused had been booked for killing two Rangers in Gilgit on October 13, 2005

GILGIT:

At least 12 men who allegedly murdered two Rangers and injured four of their peers in an attack in Gilgit over a decade ago will be tried by military courts in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The case was referred to a military court by anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge Raja Shehbaz during a hearing on Monday, an insider privy to the development said on Tuesday. “The suspects, who were on bail and present in the court during the hearing, were arrested by security officials,” he added.

The accused had been booked for attacking Rangers in Gilgit on October 13, 2005. At least two rangers and 10 civilians were killed in the shoot-out. Four Rangers also were injured in the violence that erupted after leading Shia clerics were gunned down by armed men earlier the same year.



The suspects, including Mumtaz Kawish, Shabbir Rizvi, Zahid Hussain, Safdar Ali, Mujahid Ali, Ali Haider, Jamil Hussain, Ali Rehmat, Ghulam Abbas and Bilal Hussain, were on bail. However, the ATC cancelled their bail on Monday, allowing security officials to take them into custody.

The G-B government already sent three cases to military courts set up under the National Action Plan against terrorism. Following the arrest, relatives of the suspects protested against the government. Earlier, incidents of terrorism had already been referred to the military courts including the attack on foreigners which claimed 10 lives at Nanga Parbat.

Three remanded

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) judge remanded three officials into police custody for alleged embezzlement of public funds. The three officials, including a secretary in the Excise and Taxation department, had been arrested a day earlier by the police. The suspects were accused of taking kickbacks worth millions of rupees. The remand of the accused will last till the 29th of this month, said an official.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th,  2015.