PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has granted bail to 10 persons arrested in Lower Dir after the May 9 and 10 violent protests on multiple charges including sedition and setting on fire a public school and other properties.

A single-member bench of Justice Shahid Khan accepted two petitions filed by the accused persons on condition of furnishing two surety bonds each of Rs200,000.

One of the petitions was filed by an accused Ibrahim Khan whereas the other was jointly filed by Liaquat Ali and eight others.

The bench observed that peculiar facts and circumstances of the event in hand had led the court to the conclusion that the set of allegations against the petitioners needed further probe and it made them entitled to the concession of bail.

The bench observed that the record would transpire that there was no direct evidence available that could prima facie connected the petitioners with the commission of the offence except the alleged CCTV footage, on the basis of which majority of the accused had been nominated in the instant case.

Bench observes allegations against petitioners need further probe

It observed that evidentiary value of such incriminating article about the guilt of the accused was to be evaluated by the trial court after recording pro and contra evidence, therefore that element alone made the case of petitioners one of further inquiry.

Moreover, the bench observed that it was for the trial court to determine the applicability of section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) against the accused in view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case especially when majority of petitioners had been implicated in the case on the basis of CCTV footage coupled with the fact that they had been assigned a general role, without specifying role of each and every accused.

The petitioners were represented by advocates Mohammad Yar Yousafzai and Murtaza Khan.

Earlier, an anti-terrorism court in Timergara, Dir Lower, had granted bail to around 100 of the suspects on June 7, but rejected pleas of the present 10 petitioners.

FIR of the occurrence was registered at Balambat police station on May 10 under different provisions of Pakistan penal Code including sections 120-A, 124-A, 148, 149, 186, 188, 189, 295-B, 324, 341, 353, 355, 380, 427, 436, 440, 500 and 504 and section 7 of ATA.

The SHO of the police station, Mehbood Shah, was complainant in the case. He claimed that on May 9 a procession comprising of about 1,500 to 2,000 persons from Timergara side under the leadership of former MPA Shafiullah Khan, former MNA Bashir Khan, Balambat tehsil mayor Asim Shoaib and several others gathered at the entrance of the Balambat Cantonment.

He claimed that the accused persons installed a loudspeaker on a vehicle and were turn by turn delivering speeches and instigating the participants of the procession for revolt against the government and were also raising anti-state slogans.

He stated that one Maulana Shah Zaman during his speech provoked the mob. He added that on his provocation, the participants of the procession used abusive language and blocked the main road to traffic.

The SHO said that during their speeches, the accused stated that the government crossed the red line by arresting their leader Imran Khan. He alleged that the protesters also fired at police and security personnel with the intent to kill them, but luckily they escaped unhurt.

He also accused the protesters for breaking the gate to the parade ground and burning the public school building, a canteen and other rooms. He added that because of pelting of stones by the protesters, several police officials received injuries.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2023