PHC maintains restraining order in ex-TTP spokesman’s case

PESHAWAR: Maintaining the restraining order, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday directed the federal government not to release Ehsanullah Ehsan, a former spokesman for the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), without its permission.

A division bench comprising Justice Roohul Amin Khan and Justice Syed Afsar Shah issued the verdict.

The bench was hearing writ petition filed by Fazal Khan, whose son Sahibzada Umar Khan was martyred in the Army Public School carnage, against the possible clemency to TTP spokesman and his trial through military court without further delay.

During hearing, no law officer representing the federal government and Ministry of Defence was present. However, Additional Advocate General Sikandar Shah representing the provincial government was present in the court.

In the previous hearing, the court had expressed dissatisfaction over brief comments filed on behalf of the defence ministry and sought detailed comments clearly explaining the government’s position on the matter.

The court had directed the defence ministry to explain in clear terms whether any clemency had been offered to Ehsanullah Ehsan and under what law the government was going to proceed against him.

The bench again directed the federal government through Ministry of Defence to submit a detailed reply before the next hearing in the case.

He requested the court to order the speedy trial of Ehsanullah Ehsan by a military court and that the petitioner should be informed about the outcome of the case thereafter.

The respondents in the petition are the federal government through the interior secretary, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through the chief secretary, the defence ministry through its secretary, the Inter-Services Intelligence director general, the Chief of Army Staff, and the law and human rights ministry through its secretary.

Barrister Amirullah Khan Chamkani, representing the petitioner, contended that the Attorney General’s office had filed brief comments, saying the investigation and operations based on the revelations of Ehsanullah Ehsan are under process and therefore the petition should be dismissed.

He stated that the court was not satisfied with those comments and had directed the deputy attorney general to submit more comments. However, he added that once again brief comments were filed on behalf of the defence ministry.

He said that since the government had not categorically denied the assertions made by his client, it meant that those were correct.

The lawyer said the government had made public in April 2017 that Ehsanullah Ehsan had surrendered himself and since then they had been investigating him, but no charge had so far been brought against him.

He said that 148 students and staff members, including an eighth grader son of the petitioner, had lost their lives in the December 16, 2014 attack.

The petitioner said in his petition that after almost three years, one of the masterminds of the APS attack, Ehsanullah Ehsan alias Tariq, had surrendered or had been captured by the law-enforcement agencies, which had given some hope to him that the perpetrators of the APS incident would be brought to justice.

He said that to his utmost surprise and disappointment, TTP’s former spokesman far from being brought to justice was being portrayed as an “unaware, innocent and brainwashed man, who had inadvertently masterminded terrorist activities” in the country, particularly in KP.

The petitioner added that it was reported in the media that clemency was on the cards for the TTP spokesman for his ‘full and frank’ disclosure.

He said the possible government move was not only highly deplorable but also illegal and unconstitutional.