PHC stays execution of TTP leader

PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday stayed the execution of former spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s Swat chapter, Muslim Khan, who was sentenced to death last year by a military court on multiple charges of terrorism.

A PHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Muhammad Ijaz Anwar passed the order on a petition moved by Muslim Khan’s wife, Nida Bibi, challenging the military court verdict.

The bench also ordered the interior ministry and other concerned departments to produce a record of the case in front of the court during the next hearing.

According to details, Muslim Khan’s counsel Advocate Tariq Ali informed the court that execution orders for the former TTP spokesperson were issued by a military court for his “alleged involvement” in attacks on security forces besides abducting Chinese nationals and others. He argued that the military court’s order was later endorsed by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on December 28, 2016, without giving Muslim Khan a hearing opportunity which was his ‘right’.

Advocate Ali also raised questions over the transparency of the case proceedings in a military court. He said the former TTP spokesperson’s family heard about the execution verdict through media. After evaluating the arguments, the PHC bench accepted Muslim Khan’s plea and stayed his execution orders.

The PHC division bench on Thursday accepted only two petitions challenging the verdicts of military courts and turned down 37 others.

Muslim Khan, who was arrested following the operation in Swat in 2009, was involved in the killing of innocent civilians, attacking armed forces and law enforcement agencies, which resulted in the deaths of 31 people, including Inspector Sher Ali, and injuries to 69 others, according to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Source: The Express Tribune