Innocent till proven guilty: ATC acquits man accused of murdering nine militia men

Defence counsel argued prosecution did not present sufficient evidence.

PESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court acquitted a suspect charged with the murder of nine members of a family over insufficient evidence on Wednesday.

The police had charged Zubair under sections 324 and 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code, sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substance Act and Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act for murdering nine members of a family in Mashokhel, Badabher, on February 12, 2014. The deceased, identified as Pir Israr, Muhammad Haji, Said Wali Shah, Sadaqat Bacha, Yasir, Sabir, Akhtar Ali Shah, Saddam and Rehmat Ali, were said to have been related to members of an aman laskhar.



The court of judge Abdur Rauf Khan was informed by the suspect’s counsel, Sartaj Khan, that the investigation into the murders was inadequate and substantial evidence against his client was not produced. Sartaj added no eye witnesses were available to add weight to the prosecution’s case as the crime was estimated to have taken place around 1am.

Sartaj maintained Zubair’s record does not hint at possible relations with banned outfits. He said around 18 people were named in the case and most of the accused absconded.

The defence counsel argued the case was registered on information provided by a police informer who was not produced before the court. Zubair has also not confessed to the crime, added Sartaj.

The counsel of the accused had filed an application under Section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code, stating Zubair should be acquitted because the evidence provided is inadequate to substantiate the charges brought against him.

Upon hearing arguments from both sides, the court acquitted the accused.

On February 12, 2014, heavily-armed militants barged into a house, took the nine family members hostage for over two hours before they executed them.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2015.