Sufi Muhammad’s acquittal application dismissed

ATC summons prosecution witnesses at next hearing on Jan 5.

PESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday dismissed an application for the acquittal of Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad and his accomplices in a police station attack case.

The reserved judgment was pronounced by Judge Abdur Rauf Khan inside Central Prison Peshawar. The hearing was adjourned till January 5 next year. Moreover, the court has summoned prosecution witnesses on the next date of hearing.

The application for acquittal was submitted under Section 265-K of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Under this law, the court can acquit the accused before the trial concludes if there is a lack of evidence against him.

According to case details, on June 18, 1995, Muhammad and his accomplices held a protest outside a police station in Kabal and then allegedly attacked it.

The Kabal police registered a case against the cleric and 800 unidentified people under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code. They have been booked for attempted murder, waging or attempting to wage war against Pakistan, collecting arms with the intention to wage war against Pakistan and Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. The other case against him involves an anti-government speech he delivered in Grassy Ground, Mingora, on July 30, 2009.

Earlier, on Saturday, the anti-terrorism court reserved its judgment for December 17 on the police station attack case. Moreover, it had issued an arrest warrant for the investigation officer (IO) pursuing a case of sedition against Muhammad. The court had summoned Inspector Gul Rahim, the IO in the case, many times. However, he had not showed up in court.

A total of 12 cases have been registered against Muhammad for murder, treason, arson and sedition. However, he has been acquitted in 10 cases and only two are currently being heard.

Maulana Sufi Muhammad is the father-in-law of the chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mullah Fazlullah. He is known for trying to impose Sharia by force in Swat and Malakand and sending volunteers to fight US forces in Afghanistan in 2001.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2014.