Muhammad Sikander, the accused in the 2013 Islamabad standoff, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison and fined Rs 110,000 by the court on Thursday. Failure to pay the fined amount will result in an additional six months of jail term, it was ruled.
Sikander had held his family members hostage in Islamabad’s Blue Area. On August 15, 2013, the armed man opened fire in the highly policed area of Islamabad after passing through check posts. He was later shot and seriously wounded during the standoff.
The incident started when Sikandar started firing into the air in the central Jinnah Avenue neighborhood, less than a kilometre from the presidency and parliament buildings — after being stopped for a traffic violation, police said, according to a report published by foreign media agencies.
The armed man, who was accompanied by his wife and children in a car demanded imposition of Islamic law. After the five hour incident, the doctors said that the accused was in a critical condition. The accused was witnessed as being in possession of a submachine gun and a Kalashnikov.
During the stand-off, politician Zamarud Khan, a leader of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), acting as a negotiator in the incident, jumped on Sikandar in an attempt to disarm him.
Sikandar broke free and fired at Khan, who was not injured. The woman and children were standing nearby.
Police and paramilitary forces later shot Sikandar, who fell to the ground and was carried away by police and paramilitary officers.
