LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench headed by Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif on Monday sought a reply from the Punjab home secretary until December 10 on a petition filed by accused terrorist Hijratullah against his solidarity confinement at the Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore.
The petitioner accused of carrying out the terrorist attack on the Manawan Police Training Centre in March 2009 submitted that authorities had put him in a dark cell and were treating him as a terrorist despite the fact that an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had acquitted him.
An ATC on October 19, 2009 had awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment to Hijratullah for trying to destroy a military helicopter on during a military operation against terrorists who had attacked the police training school. The court had acquitted him from charges of possessing a hand-grenade and dagger.
The Punjab government had filed appeals against his acquittal and 10 years punishment arguing that he was a terrorist and the punishment was not according to the crime he had committed. The deputy prosecutor said that presence of the accused at the spot also proved that he was directly involved in the attack but the court failed to punish the terrorist according to his offence who deserved a life imprisonment instead of 10 years imprisonment.
He requested the LHC to modify the court’s decision and enhance Hijratullah sentence from 10 years to life imprisonment.
On Monday, during the case’s hearing, Punjab Deputy Prosecutor General Rana Bakhtiar said that Hijratullah was involved in the Manawan terrorist attack and his sentence should be increased from 10 years to life imprisonment. On the Punjab government’s appeal, the court issued a notice to Hijratullah to explain his position in this regard. The prosecutor pleaded that Hijratullah be convicted under Section 4 of the Explosive Substance Act 1908.
According to the prosecution, on March 31, 2009, seven police trainees and a civilian were killed and 93 others injured in an eight-hour shoot-out with seven terrorists at the Manawan police training centre, six kilometres from the Wagha border. On suspicion, security personnel arrested Hijratullah alias Shakirullan son of Matiullah caste Kakar Pathan and resident of Charsadda, Afghanistan from a nearby graveyard, where he was allegedly planning to throw a hand-grenade at a helicopter and possessed a grenade, dagger and some papers.
A case under Section 3/4 Explosive Substance Act 1908, 13 (20) 65 of the Arms Ordinance and Section 7 of the anti Terrorism Act was registered against him at the Manawan Police Station. In the appeal, Bakhtiar said that during investigation Hijratullah had confessed that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud, who had claimed responsibility for attack a day after the incident, had instructed him to carry out the attack.
The prosecution had produced 12 witnesses against him who proved the allegations against Hijratullah and fingerprints of the accused also supported the prosecution’s argument
