PESHAWAR: An antiterrorism court here on Friday acquitted two people of possession of explosive materials and ordered their release.

The police had claimed to have seized two improvised explosive devices and hand grenades from Asif and Shakeel last year insisting they had planned to use them for an act of terrorism.

While announcing the acquittal of the two, judge Tariq Yousafzai ruled that the prosecution didn`t prove charges case against the accused and that the evidence on record didn`t connect them with the commission of the offence.

The counter-terrorism department had registered FIR of the case on May 18, 2016, claiming the SHO of Hayatabad police station had prior information about the carrying of explosives by some militants following which he placed a cordon on the road passing near Karkhano Market.

It claimed that the SHO spotted the accused disembarking from a passenger van and that the police found two IEDs weighing three kilogrammes and two kilogrammes, respectively, two hand grenades and a pistol on them.

The two were later charged under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Section 5 of Explosive Substance Act.The CTD claimed that the accused belonged to a faction of a banned militant group, Tehreek-iTaliban Pakistan.

Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, lawyer for the accused, insisted the police had falsely implicated his clients.

He said his client Asif worked as a tailor in Karkhano Market, while the other, Shakeel, had a small food stall there.

The lawyer said the report of Bomb Disposal Unit was not admissible as the relevant officer was not a notified explosive expert.

He said a notification was recently issued by an actinginspectorgeneralof police to declare the BDU head as a notified explosive examiner but that notification was illegal as an acting police chief was not empowered to issue it.

The lawyer said under the Explosive Rules of 1940 and Police Rules, there should be a chief inspector of explosives, who had not been appointed so far.

He pointed out that there were only three chief inspectors of explosives, one each in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

The lawyer said there was no evidence on record to prove that the accused were members of a banned militant organisation.

He added that the prosecution witnesses had recorded conflicting statements proving the innocence of his clients.