Indian national’s case: PHC orders authorities to present details on Jan 31

Nehal Ansari was arrested by security agencies in 2012 from a hotel in Kohat, with a fake ID of Hamza

PESHAWAR: Case of the Indian national Hamid Nehal Ansari, who has completed his jail term granted by a military court, was adjourned on Wednesday till January 31 after the respondents did not present record of his conviction and his jail warrant that the court had earlier directed to produce.

The two-judge Peshawar High Court (PHC) bench, comprising Chief justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Mohammad Ghazanfar, resumed hearing of the case and asked the respondents about production of his conviction order by the military court as well as details of Ansari’s jail warrant.



However, the respondents failed to submit the reports and told the court that it would be submitted to the court without further delay on January 25.  Later, the court strongly directed the authorities to produce the said record till January 31 and adjourned the case.

During the hearing of the case on Wednesday, the court was told that the security agencies had recovered some photographs of Pakistan’s sensitive locations from Ansari’s possession, especially of the military related areas. However, they did not provide any details to support the claim.

Lawyer for the petitioner, Qazi Muhammad Anwar, argued in the court that Ansari was investigated by the security forces and tried by the military court.  He was sentenced to three-year imprisonment only for his illegal entry into Pakistan as nothing else was found against him to prove him a spy.

“Under the law, he has already completed the three-year jail term as he is behind bars in Pakistan since 2012 and should be released now,” he said. The counsel told the court that in Mardan prison Ansari is being treated like a spy as his jail warrant is also stamped with phrase ‘anti-state activities’ despite the fact he was not found to be involved in any such activities.



“Nehal Ansari is not a spy. He was tried by the military court and was awarded three-year imprisonment, which he has already completed,” Qazi Anwar told the court.

Ansari was arrested by security agencies in 2012 from a hotel in Kohat, with a fake ID of Hamza. According to his petition, he had come to Pakistan to meet a girl he had befriended on social media.

The Indian national was tried in a military court and was awarded three-year rigorous imprisonment that started from December 15, 2015 and will end on December 14 next year.