A Pakistani court on Saturday freed an Afghan man accused of involvement in a terror attack on a Police Training School on the outskirts of Punjab's provincial capital for want of evidence as he turned out to be a rag-picker.
Hijratullah, an Afghan national, was believed to be part of a group of terrorists who attacked the police facility and was arrested from the site on March 30, 2009.
He was apprehended by local citizens when he was seen hiding in fields and then moving slowly towards a helipad allegedly with two grenades in his hand.
Some nine persons were killed during the attack while three terrorists blew themselves up to avoid arrest.
During interrogation by police, Hijratullah had reportedly confessed to be an accomplice of the attackers.
However, during his trial in an anti-terrorism court in Lahore, he said the police had forced him to make that statement.
Hijratullah told the court he was a rag-picker by profession and had been at the site of the attack as an onlooker.
The judge acquitted Hijratullah after declaring the evidence presented against him by the prosecution as "insufficient".
{{/usCountry}}The judge acquitted Hijratullah after declaring the evidence presented against him by the prosecution as "insufficient".
{{/usCountry}}