Stay order against execution of Muslim Khan extended
Bureau Report
2017-06-02
PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday extended a stay order issued against the execution of a former spokesman for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Swat, militant outfit, Muslim Khan, asking the defence ministry to produce records ofhis trial conducted by a military court last year.
Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ijaz Anwar fixed July 4 for the next hearing into a petition filed by Muslim Khan`s wife,Nida Mumtaz, challenging his conviction by the military court.
The bench also asked the ministry to allow the petitioner`s lawyer to examine the trial records.
On May 25, the court had stayed the execution of Muslim Khan after preliminary hearing into his wife`s petition.
An additional attorney general and a representative of defence ministry appeared before the bench, whereas the petitioner was represented by lawyer Tariq Asad.
The petitioner has raised several objections to the trial of her husband conducted by a military court under the Army Act.
She claimed that her husband was taken into custody by the security forces in Sept 2009 and that he had remained missing thereafter.
The petitioner said she came toknow about her husband`s conviction through newspapers in Dec 2016 and that she wasn`t provided with the records of his trial. She said she didn`t know on charges her husband had been convicted.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Army, had made public on Dec 28, 2016, the conviction of Muslim Khan by a military court.
It had claimed that the former TTP spokesman was involved in killing of innocent civilians, attacking the armed forces and law-enforcement agencies of Pakistan, which had caused the death of 31 people, including inspector Sher Ali of the police.
The ISPR had also insisted that he was also involved in the `slaughtering` of four army offi-cials, including Captain Najam Riaz Raja, Captain Junaid Khan, Naik Shahid Rasool and Lance Naik Shakeel Ahmad.
It had added that Muslim Khan was also involved in the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers and a local civilian for ransom.
The ISPR had also stated that Muslim Khan had admitted his offences before the magistrate and trial court.
The petitioner has claimed that she had filed an application with the military court of appeal requesting that she be provided the details of the trial but got no reply.
She added that the detainee was not provided a fair trial as provided under Article 10-A of the Constitution.
The petitioner said her husband was also not provided with a lawyer of choice.