Handler of would-be bomber declared as hardcore militant, PHC told

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) was told on Tuesday that the ‘handler’ of a would-be suicide bomber languishing in an internment centre in Kohat has been declared a hardcore militant.
Additional Advocate General (AAG) Muhammad Waqar Ahmad submitted the oversight board’s report to a division bench of the court comprising of Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain regarding Jehangir Khan, the handler of a would-be teenage suicide bomber who was arrested by the police in Peshawar.
As per the oversight board report, the AAG informed the bench that Jehangir was shifted to an internment centre in Kohat and was declared as ‘black’ which meant he was a hardcore militant.
The bench disposed of the habeas corpus petition filed against the enforced disappearance of Jehangir Khan after receiving the report. It gave the direction that family members of the detainee could meet him in the internment centre.
Jehangir Khan was allegedly arrested by the police along with a teenage would-be suicide bomber, Bilal, in the jurisdiction of Sarband Police Station in rural Peshawar on November 20, 2012. Several television channels had shown the cops arresting him along with the bomber. An explosives-filled vest was also recovered from them.
The vest was later defused by the bomb disposal unit officials.After the arrest, police officials told reporters that Jehangir was the handler of Bilal, but the next day the cops retracted their statement. The police even didn’t name Jehangir, belonging to Speen Qabar area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency, in the first information report (FIR).
The same bench also disposed of the case of two missing students after receiving information that they had been released.During hearing of the case, Nasruminallah, counsel for the petitioner, informed the bench that the two missing students, including Qari Zahid Ikhtiar, a 3rd year student and Muhammad Bilal, a grade 6th student, were released and had reached home.
Both the students are residents of Matani area of Peshawar district and were picked up by the law-enforcing agencies on March 9, 2013.However, the lawyer informed the bench that the whereabouts of the third missing person, Fazal Ghani, are still not known.
The bench in the third missing person case issued notice to ministries of defence and interior to submit replies of the intelligence agencies working under the supervision of the two ministries before next hearing.
In another missing person case, the bench summoned Assistant Political Agent (APA) Ghallanai, directing him to appear and explain his position regarding whereabouts of one Ghaniur Rehman.
The petitioner’s lawyer informed the bench that deputy commissioner Peshawar had admitted that the missing person, Ghaniur Rehman, was handed over to APA Ghallanai in Mohmand Agency after his arrest.