Parents of APS victims want TTP spokesperson to stand trial

PHC orders federal, K-P govts to file detailed replies on a petition filed by father of a victim

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed the federal and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governments to present details of a former Taliban spokesperson’s case to the court at the next hearing.

A two-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ijaz Anwar Khan – issued the directives while a hearing a writ petition filed by Advocate Fazal Khan, the father of Sahibzada Umer Khan, a student who, along with dozens others, was martyred in a shooting rampage by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan at the Army Public School in December 2014.

Former TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan, who had claimed credit for the gruesome violence on behalf of his group, surrenderred to the security forces in April this year.

In its earlier hearing, the PHC had directed the federal and K-P governments for their detailed response in the petition, which didn’t come through.

The petitioner demanded that that Ehsan should be tried in a military court like other militants. He prayed that the court restrain the federal government from granting Ehsan amnesty.

The petitioner has named the federal and K-P governments, defence ministry through defense secretary, army chief, ISPR, and law and human rights ministry through its secretary are respondents in the case.

He asked the court that parents should be informed about the fate of Ehsan as after several years of wait; the APS tragedy victim families have waited for several years for the arrest of the killers of the brazen attack.

Fazal stated in his petition that the parents of dozens of pupils martyred in the APS massacre were waiting for justice. He added that the bereaved families had found some solace after Ehsan’s surrender but they were disappointed because the TTP spokesperson was not made to stand trial.