Courts sentence multiple offenders
The Anti-Terrorism and Sessions Courts in Rawalpindi district on Thursday awarded strict punishments to convicts involved in cases of explosives recovery, murder, and narcotics trafficking.
In a major decision, special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Amjad Ali Shah sentenced five individuals to a combined 65 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs500,000 each in a case concerning the possession of explosive materials. The court also ordered the confiscation of all movable and immovable properties of the convicts.
The case, registered by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on September 12, 2023, named Abdul Rashid, Rizwanullah, Luqman Khan, Wahid Khan, and Irfanullah as the accused. In the event of non-payment of fines, each convict will serve an additional six months in prison.
The court awarded seven years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 5 of the Explosives Act, three years and a fine of Rs50,000 under Section 11-F(6) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, and three years and another Rs50,000 fine under Section 11-W of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The time already spent in custody will be counted as part of their sentence. Following the ruling, all five convicts were transferred to Adiala Jail.
In a separate murder case, Additional District and Sessions Judge Rai Afzal Hussain Kharal sentenced Zafar Mehmood to death and imposed a fine of Rs1m for the murder of a young man, Abdul Karim, over a property dispute in Gujjar Khan. The case was registered on March 13, 2010, after which the convict fled and remained at large until his arrest last year.
Additionally, in two separate narcotics smuggling cases, the court sentenced two individuals to a total of 18 years of imprisonment and imposed fines totalling Rs160,000.
Muhammad Akhtar, arrested with 1,600 grams of narcotics from Dhamyal, was sentenced to nine years and fined Rs80,000.
Khial Muhammad, arrested with 1,400 grams of narcotics from the Saddar Wah area, also received a 9-year sentence and a fine of Rs80,000.
All three convicts were also shifted to Adiala Jail following their sentencing.