Anti-terrorism Court hears blasphemy case in Islamabad
Image Credit: The Nation
According to reports of Baaghi TV, Anti-terrorism Court in Islamabad has heard blasphemy case.
Judge of the Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court, Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan, heard the case. The plaintiff, Hafiz Ehtesham Ahmed, appeared in court in person. The four accused detained in the case were also produced before the court.
The accused did not present their defense today, despite the deadline given by the court to present their defense. “We have filed a petition in the High Court seeking a record from the PIA”, the stand of the accused’s counsel. “The hearing of our petition in the High Court has been adjourned till October 8th”, the stand of the accused’s counsel.
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“The court should wait for the decision of the High Court on our application. The court should give us time till October 8 to present the defense evidence”, the counsel for the accused pleaded.
“The plaintiff opposes giving the defendants more opportunity to present defensive evidence. The High Court has rejected the plea of the accused’s counsel to stay the trial court from proceeding”, the stand of plaintiff Hafiz Ehtesham Ahmed said.
“The High Court did not issue any restraining order against the trial court proceedings, the trial court has been giving the accused an opportunity to present defensive evidence for the past one year”, the plaintiff said.
Defendants have been suspending the trial in various ways for the past one year instead of presenting defense evidence. The court, after hearing the parties’ arguments, rejected the plea of the accused’s lawyer for more time to present defensive evidence.
The court ordered the lawyers of the parties to give final arguments on October 6th. The accused have been given several opportunities to present their defense evidence.
“Defendants ignored the deadline given by the court to present defense evidence, did not present any defense evidence in defense today”, the court ordered.
The right of the accused to present defensive evidence is now abolished, the High Court had given 6 weeks for the final verdict of the case, the court order said.
Three weeks have elapsed from the six-week time limit given by the High Court, the court will now hear the final arguments of the parties to reach a final conclusion on the case.
“The lawyers of the parties can also submit written arguments to the court on October 6th if they wish. The court will decide the case after looking at the record after the final arguments of the parties”, the court order said.
“You missed the last chance to present defense evidence”, Judge Raja Jawad Abbas said in an interview with the accused’s lawyer. “Now the court is giving you the opportunity to present the final arguments. If you want, you can present the final arguments on October 6th. If you have not presented the final arguments despite the court’s time limit, the court will review the record and decide the case”, Judge Raja Jawad Abbas.
The court remanded the accused in custody and adjourned the case till 6th October, 2020.
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