Mashal murder case: PHC transfers trial of four accused to Peshawar

Order given after lawyer for one suspect withdrew his objections to the transfer

PESHAWAR: A court on Monday directed to transfer to Peshawar the trial of the main accused in the high-profile murder of Mardan journalism student Mashal Khan.

The order was issued by Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Yahya Afridi on Monday.

It came in response to a writ petition filed by Mashal’s father Muhammad Iqbal. In his petition, filed through Barrister Amirullah Chamkani, Iqbal had argued that while the case is technically supposed to be conducted in Mardan, but fearing a law and order situation and threats to his family and the threat of a biased trial, it should be moved to Peshawar.



He went on to argue that the appeals against the Abbottabad ATC court judgment have already been transferred to PHC therefore, the trial of the prime accused and others should also be moved to the ATC in Peshawar.

Last week the K-P Home and Tribal Affairs Department, after repeated directives from the PHC, had informed the court that the government has no objection if the case is transferred from Mardan to a trial court in Peshawar.

However, the counsel of Asad Katlang — one of the accused in the case — had opposed the transfer, arguing instead that if the case must be moved, it should be moved to Abbottabad.

The garrison city had been the destination of choice in the past when the PHC had transferred the trial of 57 other accused in the case and directed to hold a trial inside the Haripur prison.

When the court asked to explain his reasoning for the particular city, he said that he had only recently joined the case and sought time to prepare an answer.



The court had subsequently given him two days to furnish an explanation.

On Monday, when the court resumed hearing the case, Katlang’s lawyer only agreed to Iqbal’s suggestion rather than stick to his argument of shifting the case to Abbottabad.

None of the three others who are standing trial along with Katlang, including Arif Khan, Sabir Mayar, Izharullah alias Johny, had objected to the transfer.

The court subsequently ordered the transfer of the case to anti-terror court 3 in Peshawar.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2018.