Islamabad: Pakistani authorities for the first time have levelled a charge of waging a war against the state in a case that involves two alleged terrorists accused for sending youths to the Waziristan tribal region for training for suicide bombings and sectarian killings.
Abdul Razzak alias Omer and his accomplice Rashid Iqbal alias Basit, are the alleged terrorists with links to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and have been arrested under Section 122 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which states that anyone collecting arms to wage a war against the state would be punished with life imprisonment or a term not exceeding 10 years and a fine, a media report said on Tuesday.
These men were arrested by the Crime Investigation Department`s Anti-Extremism Cell during a raid in Karachi on June 12.
Over 100 Taliban militants have been arrested in Karachi since 2007 but none of them was charged in a similar manner because authorities were unable to gather solid evidence against them.
The two alleged terrorists in their early 30s have been accused of sending youths to Waziristan tribal region for training purposes regarding suicide bombings and sectarian killings.
Authorities claimed to have seized a large cache of arms and ammunition, including 20 kg of explosives and grenades, at the time of their arrest. In 2009, the two men allegedly prepared six youths for carrying out suicide attacks.
"They took the boys to Waziristan, where four of them were killed in a drone attack and two, Waqar Ahmed and Arshad Khan, were injured and taken into police custody," said SSP Chaudhry Aslam Khan.
"The terrorists also confessed before a judicial magistrate," Khan said. In the past, authorities had charged arrested terrorists under sections related to the seizure of weapons or murder.
Criminal law expert Iqbal Shah Advocate said that according to the law, intentions had no significance. In such cases, authorities will have to prove that the terrorists took the youths to Waziristan and trained them as suicide bombers, he added.
"In most cases the terrorists confess in front of the authorities but refuse to do so in court and so it is necessary to record their statement under section 164 of the penal code in front of a magistrate," he said.
PTI
