Lahore High Court asks officials to explain acquittal of key Manawan attack accused

LAHORE - Taking sou motu action over the acquittal of main accused of the Manawan training centre attack, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the top brass of the Punjab Police and the prosecutor general to appear before the court on June 22 to explain as to under what circumstances the case against the extremist was dismissed.

Earlier, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had dismissed the case against Hijratullah due to insufficient the evidence presented by the prosecution.

Hijratullah was arrested when he allegedly tried to blow up an army helicopter with a hand grenade that had landed near the training facility after the attack.

Hijratullah’s counsel had argued before the ATC that his client was not a terrorist and was picking up garbage in the area at the time of the attack, The Daily Times reports.

However, it was reported that he would not be freed from police custody as he was previously arrested and charged for an attack at Makki Sharif on Ravi road.

Hijratullah was awarded 10-year imprisonment in the said case. (ANI)