The prosecution fails to present enough evidence or witnesses against the accused.
PESHAWAR:
In a landmark development in one of the country’s most tragic terrorism cases, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Peshawar has acquitted two accused for lack of evidence in the 2014 Army Public School (APS) attack, which claimed the lives of over 150 people, mostly schoolchildren.
The court, headed by Justice Asad Ali, heard the case relating to the brutal assault on December 16, 2014, when armed terrorists of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar. The attack resulted in the martyrdom of more than 150 students and teachers, and around 250 others were injured.
Prosecutors informed the court that the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) named Shakil and Jan Wali as suspects following investigations and submitted an indictment against them. However, defense lawyers maintained that their clients had no involvement in the incident. They further argued that the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence or witnesses against the accused during the trial.
Under Article 265-K of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the defense requested acquittal, saying there was no credible evidence linking the suspects to the crime. After hearing the entire arguments of both sides, the court accepted the plea and acquitted Shakil and Jan Wali, thereby relieving them of the case.
The court also declared 16 other designated terrorists as fugitives (on the run) and issued perpetual arrest warrants against them. The list includes prominent terrorist figures such as Mangal Bagh, Haji Gul Bahadur, Commander Umar Khalid Khurasani, Commander Hafiz Saeed, Commander Aurangzeb, Commander Fazlullah, Hafiz Daulat, Qari Shakil, Qari Saifullah, Islam Farooqi, Maulvi Faqir, Ajnabi, Angara Apaji, Abu Zar and Sarwar Shah.
The move comes amid long-running legal proceedings related to the APS attack, one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in Pakistan’s history. A judicial inquiry into the incident was conducted on the direction of the top court.
