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ISLAMABAD, Nov 13 (APP):The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday has ruled that if police or law enforcement officials are injured or killed while performing their official duties during a private feud, the act will be considered terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 1997.
According to the court’s officially approved written judgment, a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim delivered the verdict in the case Riaz Hussain vs. The State.
The accused, Riaz Hussain, was charged with killing Abdul Wahab Chandio in 2016 while he was in police custody and shooting two police constables, Muhammad Ayub and Zahid Ali, injuring them within the premises of Sub Jail Warah, District Qambar Shahdadkot. The Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced him to life imprisonment and the Sindh High Court, Larkana Circuit Bench, upheld the conviction. However, the accused appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the incident stemmed from personal enmity and did not fall under the purview of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
In its detailed judgment, the apex court held that although the primary target was a private individual, the attack occurred in police custody and resulted in injuries to police officers performing their duties. Therefore, the act constituted an assault on state institutions and was covered by anti-terrorism laws.
The court clarified that any act aimed at obstructing, intimidating or causing fatal harm to police or law enforcement officers performing their duties qualifies as terrorism, even if motivated by personal enmity. Citing PLD 2020 SC 61 (Ghulam Hussain vs. The State), the court noted that while personal disputes generally do not constitute terrorism, targeting state officials under such circumstances changes the legal context.
The Supreme Court ruled that the conviction was lawful and dismissed the appeal.