Suspected terrorist rejected post-arrest bail

Accused had confessed to planning an attack on Pims.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday dismissed the post-arrest bail of a suspected terrorist Munawar, alias Meera Jan.

Munawar was arrested from Sector G-9 Markaz on June 29, after police seized a suicide jacket, hand grenade and a pistol from his possession.

The bail application was filed by Chaudhry Nisar Gujjar, Munawar’s lawyer, seeking his release from police custody. However, the application was rejected by Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman.

The court observed that the citizens were suffering due to increased terrorist activities, and the extremists involved in spreading terror must be “dealt with iron hand”.

The defence council, however, maintained that the suspect had been detained in a fake case, and he was illegally taken into custody. He contended that Munawar’s relatives had forged him in the case due to a family dispute and requested the court to declare his detention as null and void.

Meanwhile, IHC Deputy Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri said that according to police investigations, Munawar was a member of the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP), who wanted to target important personalities and prominent areas of the capital city. He added that Munawar’s bail had already been dismissed by Additional District and Session Judge Syed Wajahat Hussain on July 28.

The police sources said Munawar had confessed of planning an attack on Pims during investigations.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2011.