Attack on LEAs constitutes terrorism: SC

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has dismissed the review petition filed by Mushtaq Ahmed, a convict involved in killing police personnel.
A trial court convicted Ahmed for murdering two police officers and a constable on duty in Lahore and sentenced him to death. The Lahore High Court (LHC) upheld the verdict.
The convict appealed the order to the Supreme Court which commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment. Ahmed later filed a review petition against that order.
In a written judgment issued by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, the court observed that attacks on law enforcement agency personnel fall under terrorism.  It further stated that targeting government officials constitutes a direct assault on the state’s writ and the justice system.
The court noted that the review petition was filed after an extraordinary delay of 1,598 days. It held that the petitioner failed to provide any reasonable justification for such a prolonged delay.
The judgment further stated that the charges against the convict—killing two police officers and a constable while they were on duty—had been proven.
The Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 1997 is a comprehensive legislative framework enacted by the Parliament of Pakistan to prevent terrorism, sectarian violence, and ensure the speedy trial of heinous offences across the country.