A young boy accused of killing a suspected blasphemy accused in a courtroom has withdrawn his bail application from the anti-terrorism court.
A panel of the accused's lawyers appeared in court and informed that their clients do not want to follow the bail application and are only interested in a speedy trial of the case.
The court directed the prosecution to submit the final challan (charge sheet) within 10 days so that the trial could begin.
It may be recalled that a few days ago, a bail application was filed by the juvenile (minor) accused on various grounds.
The 10-page petition, filed in court, quoted mostly Quranic verses and hadiths and said, "Anyone who is an apostate must be killed."
Although the police claim that the accused is around 17 years old, the petitioner insists that he is about 14 and a half years old and the investigation in this case violates the mandatory provisions of the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018.
It should be noted that on July 29, Tahir Ahmed Naseem, an American citizen accused of blasphemy, was shot dead inside the court room in the Judicial Complex of Peshawar.
The suspected killer was arrested on the spot and is currently on judicial remand in Peshawar Central Jail.
The FIR was registered at the East Cantonment Police Station under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code, Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Section 15 of the Arms Act.
A petition was filed on behalf of the accused by a panel of lawyers including Shabbir Hussain Gigiani, Mohammad Inam Yousafzai, Barrister Amirullah Khan, Qaiser Zaman Khan, Abdul Wali and Shakeel Ahmad Khel.
When the court began hearing the bail application, the defense attorneys said they wanted a speedy trial of their client.
He requested the court to direct the prosecution to file a challan of the case as soon as possible instead of dismissing the bail application.
Official sources also told Dawn that the body of the blasphemer was handed over to the US Consul General in Peshawar on August 14 and was flown to the United States.
On August 6, the Foreign Ministry issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the return of Tahir Ahmed Naseem's body after fulfilling all formalities.
Similarly, an NOC was issued by the Interior Ministry stating that there was no objection to the transportation of Tahir Ahmed Naseem's body to the United States.
It is pertinent to mention that on July 30, the family members of the victim, including the daughter of the deceased living in Illinois, USA, had issued a general power of attorney in favor of the US Consul General in Peshawar so that the body could be brought.
It may be recalled that a case was registered against the victim on April 25, 2018 at Sarband police station under Sections 153A, 295A, 295B, 295C and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
These provisions include blasphemy and blasphemy provisions.
The complainant in this case was Malik Owais, a resident of Nowshera and a student of a madrassa in Islamabad.
The complainant had alleged that the deceased was making false religious claims and had also claimed that the same was revealed to him in his dreams.
In addition, on February 4, 2019, the victim was charged under Sections 153A, 295A and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, but he denied the allegations.
He was later produced in court from Peshawar's Central Jail, where he was shot dead by a young man.
