Explosives recovered: Bail plea rejected

Counsel said Qurbanullah had been paying taxes to supply factories with exploded arms imported from Afghanistan.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday turned down the bail plea of a scrap dealer held under the Explosive Substance Act. Qurbanullah was arrested during a police raid on November 6, 2012 after 20 Russian-made hand grenades, 53 RPG-7 rockets and four 60mm mortar shells were recovered from his warehouse on Ring Road. Qurbanullah’s counsel, Saeed Khan informed the bench the RPG rockets were in a discharged state and that their remains were being supplied to steel mills. He said Qurbanullah had been paying taxes to supply factories with exploded arms imported from Afghanistan. “We do not need such a tax when the metal is supplied to steel mills and the explosives are used for other purposes,” said PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, adding that Afghan refugees were involved in terrorist activities in connivance with local people.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2013.