ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition by Malik Sikandar, the main accused in the 2013 Islamabad standoff, seeking for the suspension of his sentence.
An anti-terrorism court in the federal capital handed over Sikandar a 16-year jail period in May 2017. The court also fined him Rs110,000.
“Failure to pay the amount will result in an additional six months added to his prison sentence,” the court had announced.
On August 15, 2013, Sikandar opened fire in the heavily policed heart of Islamabad after slipping past the capital’s many checkpoints.
Armed with automatic weapons and accompanied by his purported wife and two children, demanded the imposition of Islamic law before he was shot and seriously wounded by police during a dramatic standoff.
The incident started when Sikandar started firing into the air in the central Jinnah Avenue neighborhood — less than a kilometer from the presidency and parliament buildings — after being stopped for a traffic violation, police had said.
The stand-off came to a head when Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Zamarud Khan, who was acting as a negotiator, jumped on Sikandar and tried to disarm him.
However, Sikandar broke free and fired at Khan, who escaped the injury, live footage on a private news channel showed.
Later, a case was registered against Sikandar under Section 6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the Kohsar Police Station in Islamabad.
