7 alleged Hizb ut Tahrir activists sent to jail

Two of them have been allowed to sit their exams.

KARACHI:

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Monday sent seven alleged Hizb ut Tahrir activists into judicial custody till April 29.

ATC administrative judge Justice Maqbool Baqar also directed the prison authorities to make sure that two of the accused sit their exams.

Earlier, the investigating officer (IO) moved an application to send the accused to judicial custody as they have completed the investigations. The IO said that the accused are not disclosing the residential addresses of their 40 to 50 accomplices, who are absconding in this case. These men had staged a demonstration on April 17 at Regal Chowk, demanding the establishment of the “Khilafat” or Caliphate system in Pakistan.

The accused men, Muhammad Waqas, Shafaat Ali Khan, Muhammad Rafiq, Saad Ali, Hizbullah Ansari, Muzammil Ali Khan and Ghulam Mujtaba, were sent into judicial custody while the IO was asked to submit a report with supporting material, if any, on April 29.

The jail superintendent was also asked to make sure that Ansari sits his written exam at the NED University of Engineering and Technology on May 2 between 2 pm and 5 pm. Saad was also allowed to sit his exam at the University of Karachi on April 28 between 12 pm and 2:30 pm.

The court ordered that both the accused will receive help in preparing for their exam and their family will be allowed to bring them preparation material.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2011.