LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court has acquitted two men accused of collecting funds for the banned militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, over lack of evidence.
The judge acquitted Qari Muhammad Tayyab and Touqeer Ahmed after the prosecution failed to establish their link with the procribed organisation or their involvement in collecting funds.
The suspects’ counsel, Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, told the court the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police registered a fake FIR against Tayyab and Ahmed to show efficiency and humiliate and blackmail the men.
The suspects were arrested by the CTD police for collecting funds at Karim Market for a banned organisation. The prosecution claimed the CTD sent an official dressed in plainclothes who gave the two men Rs2,000 and got a receipt from them in return.
After confirming the suspects were collecting funds for the LeJ, the CTD officers arrested them and registered an FIR against them on August 7.
Advocate Chaudhry contended there were contradictions in the statements of witnesses as some claimed they saw the men standing at a square, some said they saw them collecting funds from a market while the others claimed they were collecting funds at a traffic signal.
The counsel argued that police did not investigate those people who printed the receipts and only registered an FIR to save their skin after the defence filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court.
The prosecution claimed the accused were arrested red-handed and receipts issued by them were taken on record.
After hearing their arguments, the court acquitted the suspects.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2016.
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