Jinnah Avenue standoff: Police submit charge-sheet against Sikandar
ATC hearing adjourned till Dec 5.
On August 15, Sikandar, armed with two guns and accompanied by his wife and two children, parked a rented vehicle on Jinnah Avenue and began firing into the air. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The prosecution for the Jinnah Avenue standoff case submitted a complete charge-sheet before an anti-terrorism court on Tuesday, declaring gunman Mohammad Sikandar as the main accused.
On October 29 this year, Sikandar was shifted to Adiala Jail and the police began their investigation after his condition was upgraded to stable. During the hearing, Investigation Officer (IO) Abdur Rehman submitted a complete charge-sheet declaring Sikandar responsible for putting the lives of people in danger by using his children as a human shield.
On August 15, Sikandar, armed with two guns and accompanied by his wife and two children, parked a rented vehicle on Jinnah Avenue and began firing into the air.
The charge-sheet includes the statements of 30 witnesses including police officers deputed at the site and Akhtar Ali, an arms dealer who provided the weapons to Sikandar. The statements of eyewitnesses were also in the charge-sheet. The IO said that three months after the incident, the police had completed their investigation and declared Sikandar as an accused. A senior police officer said that if the accused was found guilty by the court, the maximum punishment would be a death sentence under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The police had already declared Sikandar’s wife Kanwal as an accused for aiding her husband during the incident.
The police had booked the couple on various counts including terrorism and attempted murder. On October 9, the Islamabad High Court had granted bail to Kanwal against a surety bond of Rs200,000.
Video recordings of the incident were also made part of the charge-sheet, as were live broadcasts on news channels from its tense beginning to its dramatic and somewhat comic end. The case was adjourned till December 5, when it is expected that Sikandar will be formally charged.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2013.
The prosecution for the Jinnah Avenue standoff case submitted a complete charge-sheet before an anti-terrorism court on Tuesday, declaring gunman Mohammad Sikandar as the main accused.
On October 29 this year, Sikandar was shifted to Adiala Jail and the police began their investigation after his condition was upgraded to stable. During the hearing, Investigation Officer (IO) Abdur Rehman submitted a complete charge-sheet declaring Sikandar responsible for putting the lives of people in danger by using his children as a human shield.
On August 15, Sikandar, armed with two guns and accompanied by his wife and two children, parked a rented vehicle on Jinnah Avenue and began firing into the air.
The charge-sheet includes the statements of 30 witnesses including police officers deputed at the site and Akhtar Ali, an arms dealer who provided the weapons to Sikandar. The statements of eyewitnesses were also in the charge-sheet. The IO said that three months after the incident, the police had completed their investigation and declared Sikandar as an accused. A senior police officer said that if the accused was found guilty by the court, the maximum punishment would be a death sentence under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The police had already declared Sikandar’s wife Kanwal as an accused for aiding her husband during the incident.
The police had booked the couple on various counts including terrorism and attempted murder. On October 9, the Islamabad High Court had granted bail to Kanwal against a surety bond of Rs200,000.
Video recordings of the incident were also made part of the charge-sheet, as were live broadcasts on news channels from its tense beginning to its dramatic and somewhat comic end. The case was adjourned till December 5, when it is expected that Sikandar will be formally charged.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2013.