Six acquitted in Peshawar ATI attack case

Defence lawyer Shabbir Hussain says they are acquitted due to lack of evidence

PESHAWAR: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday set six people including a woman free accused of facilitating an attack on the Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) in Peshawar for want of evidence.

On December 1, 2017, three militants entered the ATI hostel near Peshawar's University Road, killing nine people and injuring 37 including teachers, employees, and students of the institute. The attack had been claimed by Tehreek I Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Police arrested nine suspects following the attack, while 16 people were nominated in a first information report.

Hearings of the case started on July 10, 2018, and on July 21, 2018, the accused were inducted in the case. 29 witnesses recorded their statements as the proceedings advanced.

Those arrested were charged with aiding, abetting, planning and facilitating the assault.

ATC III judge Mehmoodul Hassan Khattak pronounced the short order and acquitted six suspects nominated in the case. Defence lawyer Shabbir Hussain said that they were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

A woman named Sherbano, her husband Fazal Tawab, Muhammad Ibrahim, Yasir, Saeedullah, and Owais were arrested on grounds of linkage with the militants.

On December 1, 2017, nine people were killed and 37 injured as at least three burqa-clad terrorists stormed the hostel of Peshawar's Agricultural Training Institute (ATI).

Both police and military officials said the attackers had been coordinating with handlers based in Afghanistan.

Security forces hunted down and neutralised the terrorists in an operation launched soon after the attack was reported. They were assisted by military helicopters conducting aerial surveillance of the premises.

Six students, the institute's gatekeeper, and two civilians were among the dead. One police officer, two soldiers, and a journalist were among the injured.

The attack on the ATI came a week after Additional Inspector General (AIG) Ashraf Noor was martyred in a suicide blast in the city's Hayatabad area.

Peshawar has for decades been a victim of militancy due to its status as a front line region in the ongoing war against militancy as well as its proximity to the restless tribal areas and the lawless Pak-Afghan border.

Pakistan Army had launched Operation Raddul Fasaad earlier this year in the aftermath of a fresh resurgence in terror attacks in the country.

The operation seeks to eliminate the "residual/latent threat of terrorism", consolidating the gains made in other military operations, and further ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders.

Hundreds of suspected terrorists have reportedly either been killed or arrested in raids carried out by security personnel since the start of the operation.

The number of attacks in the country has fallen around 70 per cent over the past year, due to a combination of the military offensive against Taliban bases along the Afghan border and government initiatives to tackle militancy, but attacks on security and civilian targets continue to occur.