PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking the transfer of the trial into the medical college student killing from an anti-terrorism court to a regular court.

Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan observed that the prosecution had rightly included the provision of the Anti Terrorism Act in the FIR of the killing and therefore, that provision should not be deleted from it.

Petitioner Sadiqullah, his brother Mujahidullah and another accused Shahzeb have been charged in the murder of medical student Asma Rani in Kohat.

The prime accused, Mujahidullah, had along with his brother Sadiqullah, allegedly opened fire at Asma Rani near her house on Jan 27 for turning down his marriage proposal.

Declares ATA provision was rightly included in FIR

Mujahidullah later fled to UAE and was arrested there after the Interpol issued his red notices at the request of Pakistani government. He was shifted to Pakistan in March.

Asma had named Mujahidullah as attacker in her dying declaration.

Petitioner Sadiqullah had requested the court that it was a normal murder case, which did not attract the provision of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

He had requested the court to order deleting Section 7 of the ATA from the FIR and to transfer the trial of the case to a normal court from the ATC.

Lawyer Syed Abdul Fayyaz appeared for the complainant, Mohammad Irfan, brother of the deceased, and argued that the girl was killed in a coldblooded manner and the accused did not deserve any leniency.

He said the accused had opened fire at the girl while she was returning back home along with her sister-in-law and the occurrence had created terror in the entire area.

The lawyer argued that through their act, the accused, who belonged to influential family, tried to display that they could kill anyone in broad day light.

He argued that the only crime of the deceased was that she had turned down a marriage proposal of the accused, Mujahid, for which the accused had decided to take her life.

The bench ordered the Peshawar ATC to resume the trial of the killing on Dec 13.

The high court had ordered in Apr the transfer of the case to Peshawar from Kohat over an application filed by Mohammad Irfan, who claimed that the accused belonged to influential family of Kohat due to which it was impossible for him and his family to pursue the case there.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had also taken a suo moto notice of the killing and ordered the police to arrest the prime accused.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2018