Sultan Wali Khan

Sultan Wali Khan was born in Peshawar, Pakistan, on February 5, 1976. Since 1999, he had been living in Olbia (Sardinia) with his wife, Humera, after being granted a visa. Sultan was known as a wealthy businessman who, over the years, became the owner of a clothes shop in Olbia called Mondo Bazar and another shop in Rome named Oriental Style. He also owned a business called Sultan SRL, was a partner of Anwar SRL, and was the co-owner of a kebab shop in Alghero. In 2007, he became responsible for a non-profit association, the Ital Pak Forum, which aimed to contribute to the integration of Pakistani citizens, develop trade unions, and provide counselling. This effectively made him the leader of the Pakistani community in Olbia. In September 2009, he temporarily relocated to Rome after his shop in Olbia was bombed by his neighbours, with whom he had a feud.
Sultan Wali Khan was arrested in April 2015. He was accused of being the leader of a terrorist network close to al-Qaeda and other jihadist organisations, operating between Olbia and Rome, and of having planned and perpetrated the Peshawar bombing on October 28, 2009, which caused the deaths of more than 100 people. He was also accused of aiding and abetting illegal immigration. Twenty-one other people were charged with similar offences. Sultan Wali Khan had previously been charged with terrorist participation in 2005, although the case was dismissed the following year due to lack of evidence.
Six crimes and charges were ascribed to Sultan Wali Khan by the pre-trial detention judge.
First of all, he was charged with mass murder under Article 422 of the Italian Penal Code for having organised in Olbia and carried out in Peshawar the terrorist attack on October 28, 2009. The planning began as early as August 2009 and Imitias Khan, Sher Khan, Siyar Khan, and Yahya Khan Ridi were also implicated in the planning and execution. According to the prosecution, Imitias and Sultan travelled to Pakistan under false pretences to organise the attack, with Sher Khan and others involved in discussions about using explosives. Conversations recorded after the attack link the responsibility to Sultan and the others mentioned above: they were in Peshawar at the time of the attack and the bombing was intended to pressure the Pakistani government to halt military operations against the Taliban in Waziristan. Further evidence includes confirmations of their presence near the explosion site and admissions of involvement in the attack’s organisation, with Ridi identified as the strategist and Sultan and Imitias as financiers. However, according to the Tribunal of Sassari, the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to prove the defendant’s guilt, noting several issues. There were ambiguities and translation problems in the recorded conversations; a lack of clear linkage between the discussions and the actual planning and execution of the attack; a conversation about a suicide attack did not align with the actual bombing method used in Peshawar, and the behaviour of the defendants was not considered incriminating. Ultimately, the court rules that there was no conclusive evidence to establish the defendant’s involvement in the attack, and thus, the crime could not be attributed to him. Sultan Wali Khan was found not guilty.
He was also charged with terrorist association according to Article 270 bis, and the Law 4 of March 16, 2006, no. 146. According to court documents, Khan and the others were part of a transnational terrorist organisation responsible for seven attacks on infrastructures and high-profile figures in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009 and 2011, with the aim of forcing the government to stop fighting Talibans while financing the terrorist groups Tehreek-E-Taliban and Tehreek-E-Nifaz-E-Sharia-E-Mohammadi. In particular, Khan’s role was to raise money in the Islamic communities in North Sardinia and transfer it to Pakistan through couriers, buy firearms and bombs. According to the prosecution, in 2009, Khan took part in a fundraising with the help of various couriers who would have to transport about €10/20,000 each to Pakistan. A similar fundraising effort was made in 2011, using Jamal Hazrat, Muhammad Siddique, and Ul Haq Zaher as couriers. Khan was also involved in raising and shipping about €30/40,000 to rebuild a Taliban-linked madrasa in Pakistan headed by Muhammad Siddique’s brother. Khan’s bother, Fazal-I-Rahman, was also involved. The prosecution suggested these funds might have been intended to support terrorist activities, but the evidence presented was not conclusive. There was no concrete proof that the money went to terrorist organisations once it arrived in Pakistan, as there was no evidence they were used for anything other than legitimate purposes. Therefore, evidence was insufficient to convict Sultan Wali Khan of financing terrorism.
The prosecution also asserted that Sultan Wali Khan and Muhammad Hafiz Zulkifal had close ties with al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, and that the Olbia cell was used as a vehicle to transmit communications to the world. The prosecution suggested that various conversations implied a connection between Sultan Wali Khan and al-Qaeda, but the Tribunal of Cagliari found these evidences insufficient. The references to Bin Laden and al-Qaeda were either unrelated to terrorist activities, concerned public information, or were too ambiguous to establish a clear link between Khan and al-Qaeda.
According to the prosecution, in Spring 2010, the Olbia cell was planning a terrorist attack in Italy, and they brought a Pakistani man to commit martyrdom; this was revealed to Sultan Wali Khan in a conversation with Imitias Khan, who was told to be careful. The attack was never carried out because DIGOS inquiries made the defendants hesitate. Another hint at a terrorist plan was made in July 2011, involving Zubair Shah and Khan. Wiretaps also revealed the purchase of firearms in 2010 by Sultan Wali Khan. The defendant had devised a two-phase plan to deal with his adversary, Mohammed Faqir, and his uncle Municher. Faqir was arrested in Pakistan after being denounced by Sultan, who then spoke to Siyar Khan, hinting that he possessed firearms. However, nothing in their conversation suggested the firearms were intended for use by the Taliban; they were likely for self-defence, which is not unusual in Pakistan. After Faqir’s arrest, Sultan reportedly began looking for someone to carry out a plan to kill Faqir and Municher, which never happened. Following a tip-off from Faqir and Municher, the police searched Sultan’s house in Pakistan for firearms, although the weapons had been hidden before the search took place. However, the court viewed the conflict as a family feud related to economic interests, not terrorism.
Therefore, the Tribunal of Sassari concluded that Sultan Wali Khan was not involved in any terrorist activities or associations. Between Sultan and Zulkifal, the supposed business and religious leaders of the cell, there were minimal contacts during the relevant period and no evidence was found about Sultan’s radical ideologies or involvement in extremist activities.
Another crime ascribed to Sultan Wali Khan was that of transnational criminal association and promoting and facilitating illegal immigration from 2005, charged under Article 416 of the Italian Penal Code, and Law 4 of March 16, 2006, no. 146. In particular, Khan, alongside Imitias Khan, was tasked with providing fake employment contracts and other documents to facilitate immigration, helping immigrants logistically and financially by employing them in their own businesses, while assisting them in obtaining political asylum. The prosecution alleged that between 2007 and 2012, Sultan obtained several work clearances for foreigners who had not previously applied for residence permits. From various phone conversations between defendants, the existence of an illegal organisation headed by Sultan and Imitias Khan emerges, functioning thanks to various intermediaries and referral points, including Sultan’s father, Raji Wali Khan, compliant businessmen who faked the employment contracts, and a contact within the Pakistani’s embassy in Rome. It was also revealed that Sultan Wali Khan charged 50-60,000 rupees for fake documents and €6-7,000 for security clearances. The Tribunal of Sassari found Sultan Wali Khan guilty of aiding and abetting illegal immigration, determining that he was involved in facilitating illegal immigration on a regular basis. Sultan was recognised as a key figure within the criminal network.
Sultan Wali Khan and Imitias Khan were also charged with Article 12 of the Italian Immigration Law (D.Lgs. 286/1998), for aiding the illegal immigration, between 2005 and 2011, of the following people: Siyar Khan, Amir Yousifzai, Rabi Fazal, Ahmad, Ibrahim Khan, Ali Zulfiqar, and allowing the illegal stay of Siyar Khan and Santosh Kumar by hosting them in Olbia and Rome. Siyar was hosted by Sultan, who also employed him, but the court found no evidence that he had actively helped Siyar with his immigration or work permit. Due to the lack of evidence, the Tribunal of Sassari acquitted Sultan on these charges. In the case of Santosh Kumar, Sultan did facilitate his illegal stay, but since the offence occurred in 2011, the statute of limitations had expired, meaning the crime could no longer be prosecuted. The same thing cannot be said for Ali Zulkifar, Amir Shad, Fazal and Ahmad Rabi, as Sultan did help them get a permit.
Sultan Wali Khan, alongside Siyar Khan, Zubair Shah, and Sadiq Shah, was also charged with Article 12 of the Italian Immigration Law (D.Lgs. 286/1998). Sultan was instrumental in arranging for Malik Aabed’s entry into Italy, coordinating with Zubair and Sadiq Shah, who were involved in helping Aabed secure a place in the refugee camp in Ancona. Khan also advised the two Shah on how to assist Aabed, including coaching him on the responses needed for his asylum application. The Tribunal of Sassari found Sultan Wali Khan guilty of facilitating the illegal immigration of Malik Aabed.
Sultan Wali Khan, alongside Imitias Khan and Ul Haq Zaher, was charged with Article 12 of the Italian Immigration Law (D.Lgs. 286/1998), for aiding and abetting the illegal immigration of Adnan Roshan in Rome in February 2011. The Tribunal of Sassari found Sultan not guilty.
On April 13, 2019, the Assize Court of Sassari declared Sultan Wali Khan guilty of being part of a criminal association promoting and facilitating illegal immigration. He was sentenced to ten years and a €80,000 fine, with expulsion after serving his sentence. He was not found guilty of terrorist association. In 2023, the expulsion order was revoked.