PESHAWAR, May 4: A local anti-terrorism court on Saturday acquitted chief of defunct Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi (TNSM) Maulana Sufi Mohammad and some of his associates in a criminal case in which he was charged with hatching a conspiracy against the state and attacking the government installations in Matta tehsil of Swat over 17 years ago.

Judge Shoaib Khan pronounced the verdict inside the Peshawar Central Prison, where Sufi Mohammad is being tried in several terrorism cases for security reasons.

The judge accepted an application of Adil Majeed, lawyer for the accused, for acquittal of his client in line with Section 265-K of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which empowers the court to acquit an accused before conclusion of the trial in case there’s no possibility of his or her conviction in light of the evidence on record.

Until now, the anti-terrorism court, Swat, whose presiding officer is conducting trials in Peshawar, has acquitted Sufi Mohammad in five terrorism cases.

Still, eight cases against him are pending decision.

The FIR of the case in question against Sufi Mohammad was registered at Matta police station in 1994 when activists of TNSM occupied several government installations in Swat to demand enforcement of Islamic law in the region.

The then government got those buildings vacated by cracking down on occupants.

Later, police booked Sufi Mohammad and several of his associates for attacking Matta police station and some other government buildings, including that of tehsil office, and injuring some policemen.

The case  was registered under sections 122, 121, 121-A, 148, 149, 186, 324 and 353 of Pakistan Penal Code read with sections 3 and 4 of Explosive Substance Act.

Most of these sections are about conspiring against the state, attempting murder, rioting and stopping government employees from performing duty.

Sufi Mohammad’s lawyer said the prosecution had so far failed to prove that his client led attackers of police stations or masterminded attacks.

He said there was no such evidence on record, which could lead to the conviction of the accused.

The lawyer requested the court for acquittal of Sufi Mohammad and some other accused. The court accepted his plea.

Most of the cases against Sufi Mohammad were registered in 1994 and afterwards when TNSM stepped up its movement for enforcement of Islamic law in Malakand division.

While Sufi Mohammad mostly remained behind bars during the last decade, the successive governments didn’t conduct trial against him.

Initially, he was arrested in Kurram Agency in December 2001 on his return from Afghanistan, where he had gone to lead around 10,000 people in the fight against American forces.

He was tried and sentenced under several sections of PPC and Frontier Crimes Regulation by the relevant political agent.

When Awami National Party formed the last government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa five years ago, Sufi Mohammad was released under an agreement on April 21, 2008.

There followed another peace agreement between TNSM and the government in February 2009. However, it failed in restore peace in Malakand division.

Afterwards, the security forces began an operation against TNSM activists in Malakand division and thus, leading to the re-arrest of Sufi Mohammad on July 26, 2009, in Sethi Town, Peshawar, along with three sons. He has been detained since.