Pakistani court acquits man who was associated with ISIS due to lack of evidence

Accused Abdul Malik, who had been arrested by the Counter Terrorism Department for possessing an unlicensed weapon, had allegedly disclosed during interrogation that he was associated with Daesh, the Arabic acronym for ISIS, reported Dawn News.

According to the prosecution, the accused had been involved in terror financing through hawala/hundi, the Pakistani newspaper reported.

He was allegedly providing funds from Karachi to facilitate the organisation’s operatives in carrying out terrorist activities from 2019 to 2022, as per the persecution.

He was booked for offences committed under Sections 11-N (punishment for fundraising and money laundering) and 21-I (aiding and abetment) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The court gave its verdict on Monday after hearing arguments from the prosecution and defence counsel Abid Zaman and Mushtaq Ahmed Sheikh.

Defence counsel Zaman told Dawn that the court had directed the jail authorities to release the accused if he was not required in any other case.