PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday upheld convictions and death sentences of six militants on multiple counts and dismissed petitions by their respective families against them.

Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Syed Afsar Shah pronounced the verdict on the petitions after in-camera hearing.

Official sources told Dawn that additional attorney general Syed Attique Shah had produced the records of the cases in the court in sealed envelopes.

Six had been awarded death over involvement in terrorist activities

The high court had earlier stayed the execution of the convicts, including Taj Gul, Mushtaq Ahmad, Fateh Khan, Fazal Ghaffar, Bakht-i-Ameer and Ikramullah.

Their convictions were made public by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, from time to time.

However, in none of these cases, the ISPR had made public when and where their trials were conducted.

According to the ISPR, all convicts except Fateh Khan are members of the banned militant outfit, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Lawyers Dr Adnan, Arif Jan, Alamzeb Khan and Ghulam Nabi represented the petitioners in the case.

All petitioners claimed neither the convicts were provided with fair trial as guaranteed in the Constitution nor were they given counsel of own choice.

One of the counsel told Dawn that the court dismissed the petitions in light of the earlier judgments of the high court through which several of such like petitions against military courts convictions were rejected.

He said the rejection of petitions by the high court would be challenged in the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has already been hearing several appeals mostly originating from the high court judgments.

The conviction of Fateh Khan was challenged by his mother, Zarba Khela.

The convict’s execution was scheduled for Mar 30 at Kohat prison. However, the high court had stayed it on Mar 29.

The petitioner claimed her son was taken into custody by the security forces on Nov 20, 2014, from Sarband area in Peshawar.

She claimed her son had remained missing and finally she filed an application before the high court on Dec 19, 2015, which was converted into a writ petition and now dismissed.

About him the ISPR has claimed that he was an active member of a proscribed organization and was found involved in slaughtering of a civilian, attacking polio workers team, individuals of Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) and armed force personnel which resulted in death of a child, eleven Khasadars, two army officers, twenty two soldiers.

The conviction of Taj Gul was challenged by his brother Ajab Gul, a resident of Upper Dir, stating that recently they came to know through print media that his brother, Taj Gul, had been sentenced to death by a military court. He claimed that five years ago they had handed over the convict to the security forces through elders of the area.

The ISPR had stated Taj Gul was an active member of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. He was involved in attacking LEAs, which resulted in death of police constables and levies persons.

The conviction of Mushtaq was challenged by his father Mohammad Miraj, a resident of Kabal area in Swat. He said the convict was taken into custody by the security forces on Dec 20, 2011, and he had remained missing for many years.

The ISPR had claimed Mushtaq was an active member of TTP and was involved in attacking Saidu Sharif Airport, killing employees of Metrological Department and destruction of an educational institution which resulted in death of civilians and injuries to soldiers.

About the convict Ikramullah, his brother Anwarullah, a resident of Shangla district, claimed the convict was the student of a Mansehra seminary and was arrested by the security forces on Jun 24, 2014 following which he had remained missing.

The ISPR had claimed Ikramullah was an active member of TTP and he was involved in attacking Armed Forces and LEAs which had caused death and injuries to officers, soldiers and civilians as well as damage to helicopters.

Similarly, about Fazale Ghaffar, an inhabitant of Swat, the ISPR had claimed: “The convict was an active member of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. He was involved in attacking Armed Forces which caused death and injuries to soldiers. He was also in possession of a suicide jacket.”

However, his family members said he was innocent and due to same reason they had handed him over to the security forces in Dec 2009.

Similarly, about Bakht-i-Ameer the ISPR had said he was an active member of TTP. He was involved in attacking Armed Forces which resulted in death and injuries to officers and soldiers. He was also in possession of explosivesThe military courts set up after the Army Public School carnage in Dec 2014 have so far convicted 65 persons out of which 62 were awarded capital punishment whereas rests of the three were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2016