Behind bars: Bail plea of four alleged bandits rejected

Additional Advocate told the bench the alleged bandits hailed from Afghanistan and were involved in various crimes.

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court on Friday rejected the bail application of a group of four dacoits of Afghan origin along with the medical technician who treated them in case of injuries sustained during various criminal activities.

A single-member bench of Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain was informed by the lawyer of Anwarul Haq, Zakir, Arshad, Rehmat and their medical aide Wisal Muhammad that his clients were arrested by Daudzai police. Advocate Shaukat Ali said the men were intercepted by a police party on patrol on July 20 as they were setting out for a robbery. He added that according to the police, the men opened fire at them and a shootout ensued as a result of which Zakir was injured. However, Advocate Ali argued the police report was not based on facts and that his clients had been wrongly implicated. Thus, he maintained, they should be released on bail.

Additional Advocate General Waqar Ahmad Khan, on the other hand, told the bench the alleged bandits hailed from Afghanistan and were involved in various heinous crimes. He claimed the overall security situation was deteriorating because of the involvement of Afghan criminals such as the ones in question.

Khan also told the court the information divulged by Zakir led the police investigators to Rehman who was arrested from the clinic of Wisal Muhammad the same day. He added Wisal used to treat criminals and was hence an aide in their crimes.

After hearing the arguments, the court rejected the bail applications of the accused men who were then sent behind bars.

Various senior officials including high-ranking police officers have repeatedly accused Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan of being involved in criminal activities. On February 12, anti-terrorism court judge Syed Asghar Ali Shah sentenced two Afghan nationals to life imprisonment for kidnapping a teenage boy for ransom while the wife of one of the accused was sentenced to seven years in prison for illegally residing in Pakistan under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2014.