Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Habib Jalib acquitted in treason cases

QUETTA : A single bench of Balochistan High Court headed by Chief Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai has acquitted Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief, Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal and general secretary of the party Habib Jalib advocate in treason cases and ordered the concerned officials to quash the FIRs and exonerate them of the charges.
The bench acquitted the BNP-M chief in three treason cases and its secretary general in two treason cases.
During the hearing, counsel-cum-applicant Habib Jalib advocate contended that there was no sufficient evidence to connect him and his client Sardar Akhtar Mengal with commission of the alleged offences.
He further argued that there was nothing on record against the BNP-M chief and other Baloch nationalist leaders who delivered anti-state speeches to instigate the people for setting on fire the public and private properties at Ghaibana Nimaz-i-Jinaza of late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti on August 29, 2006 in the provincial capital.
He stated that co-accused Mushtaq and others were acquitted by the trial court, besides ex-information secretary Jamhuri Watan Party (JWP)
Amanullah Kanrani had already been exonerated and FIRs of similar nature had also been quashed against him.
Assistant advocate general Malik Sultan Mehmmod requested for granting him time to produce record before the court, but Habib Jalib opposed to adjourn hearing of the cases.
The bench observed that when the trial court acquitted the arrested accused why appeals were not filed against them.
The bench further observed that contents of alleged speeches were not mentioned in the FIRs and there was no any document supporting the alleged offences.
The bench also exonerated Sardar Akhtar Mengal from the treason case filed against him with Gawalmandi police station on July 13, 2002 in which the BNP-M chief allegedly delivered anti-state and anti-government officials speeches in Science College.
The bench ordered the officials concerned to quash the FIRs registered against Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Habib Jalib and exonerated them of the charges.
The bench, however, did not quash the FIRs of similar nature against Khalid Longov, ex-MPA Akhtar Hussain Longov, Abdul Razaq Longov, Ghulam Nabi Marri, Ali Ahmed Kurd and Suhail Rajpoot.