Ex-TTP spokesman not to be released till trial completion: PHC

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) ordered on Wednesday that Ehsanullah Ehsan, a former spokesman for the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) would not be released till completion of his trial in the court.

A division bench comprising Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Ikramullah Khan passed the order in a writ petition filed against the possible clemency to Ehsan.

The writ petition was filed by Fazal Khan, whose son Sahibzada Umar Khan was martyred in the terrorist attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar on December 16, 2014. He had sought immediate trial of Ehsan in a military court without further delay.

During the course of hearing, Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan observed that if the TTP spokesman accepted responsibility for the APS carnage, then the parents have the legal right under the law to pardon him or not. He noted that the federal government doesn’t have the right to pardon him.

However, the deputy attorney general, representing the federal government, submitted before the bench that inquiry in the case of Ehsan is still in progress.

He said the government had no intention to give clemency to the former TTP spokesman.

During the previous hearing, the court had expressed dissatisfaction over the 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 Ehsan and under what law the government was going to proceed against him.

Barrister Amirullah Khan Chamkani, counsel for the petitioner, requested the court to order the speedy trial of Ehsan by a military court. He pleaded that the petitioner should be informed about the outcome of the case.

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 Chamkani contended that the attorney general’s office had filed brief comments, adding that the investigation and operations based on the revelations of 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 Ehsan had surrendered 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 that after almost three years, one of the masterminds of the APS attack, Ehsan alias Tariq, had surrendered or had been captured by the law-enforcement agencies. He argued that this 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 said 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. After arguments, the bench disposed of the petition with direction that Ehsan would not be released till completion of his trial.