ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has written a letter to Prosecutor, Anti-Terrorism Court, Islamabad, seeking to delete anti-terror clauses in a case registered against him on charges of staging protest outside the office of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
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In his detailed letter, Imran Khan cited the FIR No.143/2022. dated 21.10.2022.0/S 341, 427, 351, 186. 149• 147, 188. 506, 109 PPC, 7 ATA, Police station Sangjani• Islamabad. registered against him and others, and said that facts and circumstances of the above mentioned case reflected that the applicant (Khan) and others have no criminal design and object. And alleged crime was neither terrorism nor the applicant and others were found to be members of any prescribed organization.
Citing Supreme Court’s 2016 verdict, he wrote “— Scope — — ‘Actus “Ss. 6(1) & 6(2)— “Terrorism” — Acts constituting terrorism in terms of S.6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (‘the Act’) — Scope reus’ and ‘mens rea’ of terrorism For an action or threat of action to be accepted as terrorism within the meaning of S.6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 the action must fall in subsection (2) of S.6 of the said Act and the use of thread of such action must be designed to achieve any of the objectives specified in cl. (b) of subsection (1) of S.6 of Act or the use of thread of such action must be to achieve any of the purpose mentioned in cl. (c) of subsection (1) of S.6 of that Act— Requirements that needed to be satisfied for invoking cl. (c) of subsection (1) of S.6 were that the use of threat of action should be for ‘the purpose of advancing a religious, sectarian or ethnic cause” or for the purpose of “intimidating” and terrorizing the public, social sectors, media persons, business community” of for the purpose of “attacking the civilians, including damaging property of ransacking, looting, arson, or by any other means, government officials, installations, security forces or law enforcement agencies Clause(b) of subsection (1) of S.6 specified the “design” and cl. (c) of subsection (1) of S.6 earmarked the “purpose” which should be the motivation for the act and the actus reus specified in subsection (2) of S.6 was accompanied by the requisite mens rea provided for in cl. (b) or cl.(c) Of subsection (1) of S.6 that an action could be termed as “terrorism”-. —
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He said “as per dictum laid down by the Honorable Superior Court, it is a “Sine qua non” that an action or thread of action to be accepted as terrorism with in the meaning of S.6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
In view of above and for the reason supra stated, instant application may kindly be accepted and Section 7ATA, 1997 may graciously be deleted, in order to meets the ends of justice.
