PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench has granted bail to two suspects arrested under the anti-terrorism law for allegedly trespassing on a female polling station, breaking ballot boxes and tearing off ballot papers during local government elections in Buner.

A single-member bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Ijaz Khan accepted a joint bail petition filed by the suspects named Amjid Ali and Javed Afsar on condition of furnishing two sureties of Rs500,000 each.

The petitioners were charged in an FIR registered at Totalai police station, Buner on December 19, 2021, under Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act, Section 10 and 17 of Elections Act and sections 186, 353, 452, 427, 147, 149, 337 A (i)(ii) and 34 of Pakistan Penal Code.

The complainant in the FIR was presiding officer of the polling station, Fazal Wadud.

The complainant stated that he was on duty at the polling station set up at Government Middle School Dokara, Buner, during the local government elections on December 19. He stated that at around 5pm, the closing hour of voting, he asked the security staff to close the main entrance and not to allow more voters in. He alleged that around 30 to 31 persons entered the station by scaling the boundary walls and attacked him. He alleged that the attackers broke the ballot boxes and tore off the ballot papers. The complainant had also named the two petitioners stating that they were among the attackers.

Petitioners were charged under different sections of law including ATA

He alleged that the attackers belonged to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and they suspected that he (complainant) had been hindering the voting process.

The bench observed that that the record would reveal that all the sections of law for which the petitioners were charged were either bailable or the same did not fall within the prohibitory clauses of Section 497 of Code of Criminal Procedure, where grant of bail was a rule and refusal thereof was an exception.

The bench further observed that as far as Section 7 of ATA was concerned, it was for the trial court to determine as to whether the petitioners were having any intention to spread fear and terror among the public at large so as to attract the said provision. It added that as per the contents of the FIR, there was a quarrel between the supporters of two rival political parties at the polling station so that section of law alone could not be considered as a ground for the refusal of bail.

The petitioners’ counsel Sher Mohammad Khan contended that his clients were falsely charged in the FIR. He stated that neither direct independent, reliable nor any circumstantial evidence against the petitioners were available so as to connect them with the commission of the offence.

Following the occurrence, the complainant had also entered into compromise with the suspects on intervention of a jirga. However, few days ago an anti- terrorism court had rejected bail petition of the petitioners observing that they were charged for commission of non-compoundable offences.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2022