Malik Muhammad Ishaq, alleged mastermind of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team at Liberty Chowk in 2009, has been granted bail by the Supreme Court, Lahore registry, after the prosecution failed to prove his involvement.
The division bench comprising Justice MA Shahid Siddiqui and Justice Asif Saeed Khosa reprimanded the prosecution for failing to establish its case and destroying evidence. The bench noted that the prosecution produced only two witnesses who stated that they had overheard a conversation amongst some people planning the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team to secure Ishaq’s freedom.
Ishaq’s counsel, Qazi Misbahul Hassan, argued his client had been imprisoned for over 12 years and the prosecution had failed to produce any cogent evidence which could implicate him in any offence. He said his client had been acquitted in 34 out of 44 cases.
The bench censured an additional prosecutor and remarked, “The judiciary has to face the public’s wrath when the courts release accused persons due to lack of evidence and the prosecution’s incompetence.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2011.
COMMENTS (16)
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@all indians
u geniuses dont u see the stupidity in all this...... the educated pakistanis are totally stunned by this.. scroll up see my comment.. i said its a slap in the face of the judiciary...
but that doesnt give u indians any right to come here and judge us when theres plenty to be judged in ur own country..........
@Nilesh
plz im an educated pakistani banker working in one of the big 5...... where did this so called poll take place.. the other day i read a poll that said karachi was one of the cheapest cities inthe world to live in... err i can vouch for the fact that its not... point is these polls and their results are baseless.. do u ahve any idea of what demographics they targeted for poll or the reason why people disagree... NO YOU DONT.. so stop jumping to pointless conclusions!!!
@Faraz: Why ? ... Shouldn't you be behind bars ? ... off-course not then why should he be detained ? Everybody, including you, is supposed to be innocent unless proven guilty
@sam: That action has to be taken by pakistan frnd
National Assets should be protected, who cares about Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test matches. They are always played before empty stands.
@sam:
Hope you are talking about Hafeez Saeed and JuD. And that your question is introspective.
@sam: It was not just blaming but it is crystal clear true, and whole world (except pak) has accepted pak involvement in mumbai killings. Otherwise why pak gov. have hold some terrorist in jail.Nawaz sharif also accepted kasab's pak nationality on TV interview. Most pak people are still not accepting OBL death, this shows your credibility and also denial mentalitiy.
Now that i am free , can anyone tell me when the Lanka team will land again in Pak ?
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa reprimanded the prosecution for failing to establish its case and destroying evidence.
If the 'prosecution' was involved in 'destroying evidence' then they are actually complicit in the crime.So the so called 'non-state actors' are actually being protected by the state.
@Nilesh: and the so called mumbai attack master mind walks free.. NOW WHAT!!!
@eT VERY DISAPPOINTING IV NEVER SEEN U ONCE FILTER OUT ANY ANTI PAK OR RACIST COMMENTS AND YET PERFECTLY FACTUAL REBUTTALS ARE BLOCKED....
@Faraz: Excellent show by independent judiciary because the culprit was not involved in NICL case.
@Nilesh:
yes and every indian news channel blamed pakistan for the mumbai attacks and yet the so called master mind behind it walks free... NOW WHAT?
slap in the face of our judiciary
@Faraz & Waseem: My first reaction when I read the headline was "that's it, I am packing up and leaving Pakistan, there is just no hop." Then I read the detail, and it says clearly that the Judge released him because the prosecution failed to provide proper evidence. Listen, we may not like it, but in the eyes of the law, in the eyes of God, and in the eyes of Justice, you cannot imprison an innocent man. And, we like it or not, an innocent man is a person against whom an accusation is not proven. "Innocent until proven guilty." And I do not know who, but someone wise said: "It is better to exonerate 100 guilty people than find one innocent man guilty." This guy may be guilty as hell but the prosecution failed to prove it.
Protest against inefficient prosecutors, and corrupt and lazy police officials, and the corrupt rulers, but not the Supreme Court. These judges are not absolutes, they have to answer one day in a much higher court.
when attack on srilanka team happened every pak news channel was blaming india. Now what ?
Thanks again MR CHAUDHRY IFTIKHAR.. how much were you paid for all this? Another terrorist on loose. Thanks to so called independent judicary.. Wasn't lashkar e jhangvi behind you when you were brought back to power, so was nawaz sharif.. hmm and the other taliban groups as well.. wonder why no one has been hanged or served a sever punishment among those who helped you get in power.. Whole pakistan is corrupt from President of Pakistan to the "chaprasi" not even one department is helping Pakistan..
Is the supreme court gone mad. This person should be denied bail.