Directs witnesses, including the cop, to appear on July 20. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday directed the police to furnish details of properties of two proclaimed offenders, Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri so that the process for attaching their properties can be initiated.
The case was hearing a case of an attack on SSP Asmatullah Junejo. ATC Judge Shahrukh Arjumand directed the SHO of the Secretariat police station to submit details of properties of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri so that proceedings under section 88 (attachment of property of person absconding) of the Criminal Procedure Code can be initiated against them.
The court has further directed the then SSP-Operations Junejo and three other witnesses to appear before the court and record their statements on July 20.
The court order, which was issued on July 6 but only surfaced on Friday, stated that four witnesses have already recorded their statements in the case. The order pointed out that the two accused (Imran and Qadri) had been declared as proclaimed offenders through an order passed on February 3, 2017.
Earlier, the court had directed the prosecution to produce witnesses against the PTI and PAT chiefs among others over their alleged involvement in the case.
Imran, Qadri and several others had been booked over their alleged involvement in an attack on then- SSP of Islamabad Police during the 2014 sit-ins in the capital.
The SSP was brutally beaten up by some of the protesters on Constitution Avenue on September 1, 2014, less than 24 hours into his first day on the job.
Declared as proclaimed offenders, Imran and Qadri have been absconding.
The orders came after police submitted a report stating that the suspects could not be arrested. Previously, the ATC had allowed an application of the Islamabad police seeking initiation of the process of declaring both the accused as proclaimed offenders. The Secretariat SHO had informed the court that the two suspects could not be located, hence warrants for their arrest could not be executed.
With the court’s permission, the police initiated proceedings under Section 87 of the Criminal Procedure Code (proclaiming the accused as absconders) against Imran and Qadri after they failed to appear before the court.
The case would now be taken up on July 20.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2017.
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