RAWALPINDI, Jan 22: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday dropped terror charges against six persons accused of establishing illegal truck terminal near Tarnol where 50 tankers of Nato were torched in June.

Special Judge ATC-II Raja Ikhlaq Ahmed accepted the plea of Sanghar Khan and five other men, who were already on bail in the case, for removal of terrorism charges against them. The court sent their case to district and sessions judge Islamabad for their trial in a normal court of law.

The accused through their lawyer maintained that Tarnol police had charged them with possessing illegal arms and running the illegal truck terminal with out taking safety measures.

The charges under Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 could not be leveled against them as they were not accused of torching or burning the Nato vehicles. The six men were accused of secretly running the terminal in Islamabad outskirts where 50 Nato tankers were torched on June 8 last year. The tankers were carrying supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan.

In a related development, Talagang Saddar police have registered a case against an oil tanker's driver and owner on the charges of burning their tanker after stealing oil being supplied to Nato.

Police sources said that a few days back, oil tanker driver Taj Bukhash reported to Talagang Saddar Police station that their oil tanker (DLN-183), carrying fuel to Nato, was attacked by some miscreants near Dhoke Pattan on Talagang-Attock road. As a result their tanker was completely burnt.

However, police team carried out investigation and examination of the crime scene and other evidences which showed that the tanker was empty when it was being torched.

The investigators in their report said the tanker had been burnt intentionally by the driver and owner after allegedly stealing oil from it, sources said.—Our Reporter