KARACHI: With a conviction rate of 13.20 per cent, the antiterrorism courts (ATCs) in Sindh disposed of 2,386 cases in the first eight months of the current calendar year, while 3,717 cases are still pending, it emerged on Sunday.

The statistics of 45 functioning ATCs, out of the 53 set up across the province, obtained by Dawn showed that out of 2,386 disposed of cases, accused were acquitted in 2,071 cases and convicted in 315.

The official figures further showed that the antiterrorism courts handed down death sentence to 10 while 16 others were given life imprisonment.

Some judges took exception to the weak prosecution

The ATCs were established under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, for speedy trial of cases pertaining to terrorism, sectarian killing, extortion and kidnapping for ransom.

According to Section 19 (7) of the ATA, the court shall, on taking cognizance of a case, proceed with the trial on a daily basis and shall decide it within seven days. Section 13 (2) of the law said that the cases shall be assigned to a court on the basis of one case at a time.

Sindh has 33 permanent ATCs, including 20 in Karachi and three in Hyderabad, two in Sukkur and one each in Badin, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Shikarpur and Kashmore / Kandhkot.

In March 2013, the government on the directives of the Supreme Court had set up 15 sessions courts in Karachi.

Later, the number of the permanent ATCs was increased to 33 while nearly 23 district and sessions courts were given the powers to try and punish the suspects under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. However, five ATCs at Karachi were lying vacant for quite some time due to want of the judges, who were finally appointed in July and onwards.

The ATC/1st ADJ West, ATC/1st ADJ Hyderabad, ATC/1st ADJ Shaheed Benazirabad, ATC/2nd ADJ Shikarpur, ATC-II Sukkur, ATC/1st ADJ Khairpur showed a zero conviction rate.

In Karachi, the 31 ATCs disposed of 2,056 cases — 1,255 acquittals and 801 convictions — from January 1 to August 31. Around 2,878 cases are still pending.

Of them, 11 sessions courts holding trial in ATA cases, decided 801 cases with 722 acquittals and 79 convictions.

More than 10 cases have still been awaiting disposal in the ATCs for the past one decade.

The case against a suspected militant of Jundullah, Qasim Toori, who had allegedly masterminded the 2004 attack on a convoy of the then Karachi corps commander, 2006 Nishtar Park bombing case, a 2001 case pertaining to the killing of the elder brother of former Sindh governor Moinuddin Haider against alleged Lashkar-i-Jhangvi militants, around five sectarian killing cases of 2002 against LJ militants are still pending before ATCs. The case relating to the 2009 Ashura bomb blast was also pending trial.

ATCs monitoring judges’ concerns

Judicial sources told Dawn on the condition of anonymity that the Sindh High Court’s Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, who is the monitoring judge for the ATCs in the province, had expressed serious concerns over the high acquittal rate in the cases being tried by the ATCs.

The sources said that Justice Phulpoto had also issued directives to the heads of the police and prosecution departments to take measures for strengthening the investigation, particularly for the training of the investigation officers and the prosecutors serving in the ATCs, in order to remove the technical loopholes and lacunas in the investigation so that the hardened criminals could be punished strictly in the accordance with the law.

The Supreme Court’s monitoring judge for the ATCs across the country, Justice Faisal Arab, had also been expressing concern over the high acquittal rate in the antiterrorism courts and been issuing directives to the Sindh police and prosecution’s heads to deal with this important issue.

Weak prosecution

The prosecution sources told Dawn that the some ATC judges had taken exception to the weak prosecution and directed the Additional Inspector General Police, Karachi, to initiate disciplinary action against the investigating officers or other police officials over faulty investigation, etc.

The sources deplored that powers were rarely exercised by the ATC judges due to which the investigating officers were repeatedly committing the same mistakes, which resulted in the acquittal of the criminals due to the ‘benefit of doubt’.

Prosecution-police alliance

Sindh Prosecutor General Ayaz Tunio, when contacted, told Dawn that in the light of the SHC’s monitoring judge’s directives, he held a meeting with the Additional IG Sindh in order to devise a programme for the training of investigating officers and the prosecutors to remove the lacunas and gaps in the investigation that were resulting in high acquittal rate.

Mr Tunio said he pointed out around 20 decisions rendered by the ATCs and the Sindh High Court wherein the criminals were acquitted and released due to faulty investigation.

He said the AIG Sindh had agreed to start a programme for training of the IOs in collaboration with the Prosecution Department.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2018