Taseer’s anniversary: Another vigil attacker jailed for 16.5 years

Mumtaz Sindhi convicted for attacking activists three years ago

LAHORE: Another man charged with attacking peaceful activists paying tribute to slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was sentenced to 16.5 years in jail on Thursday.

An anti-terrorism court of Lahore awarded the jail term to Mumtaz Sindhi for vandalising the vigil on the governor’s death anniversary three years ago.

The court had awarded jail terms to five of his co-accused but Mumtaz joined the investigation later after spending much time hiding from authorities.

On July 27, 2015, the ATC had awarded 16.5 years imprisonment to five accused named Adeel, Furqan, Iftikhar, Wazeer Ali and Kashif Munir.

The convicts were charged with attacking and injuring civil society members at the Liberty Roundabout in January 2015.

On October 4, 2016, a Lahore High Court bench upheld the sentences of the five convicts and dismissed their appeals. The accused were booked by the Gulberg police on the complaint of a rights activist, Abdullah Malik, on January 4, 2015.

The FIR was registered against seven unnamed men and sections from the anti-terrorism act were also inserted by the complainant, who stated that candlelit vigils had been organised in Salmaan’s memory for the past four years but this was the first time an event was attacked.

He accused baton-wielding miscreants of tearing apart banners and posters and attacked members of the civil society.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2017.