Imran acquitted in three May 9 cases

Trial court says prosecution's case not based on solid evidence

ISLAMABAD:

A local Islamabad court has acquitted PTI founder Imran Khan in three cases, including the May 9 riots case and a case related to violations of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The court also acquitted former federal ministers Sheikh Rashid and Faisal Javed in cases registered at Kohsar Police Station and Karachi Company Police Station for rioting and violating Section 144.

Section 144 of the CrPC is a legal provision in Pakistani law that empowers a magistrate to issue orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger.

Judicial Magistrate Shehzad Khan's court also acquitted PTI leaders Qasim Nawaz Awan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Qasim Suri, and Raja Khurram Nawaz in a case registered for violating Section 144 during the party’s Azadi March.

Read Imran exonerated in two vandalism cases

Judicial Magistrate Mureed Abbas Khan also unveiled his reserved order on cases registered at Karachi Company Police Station related to the Azadi March, acquitting Imran Khan, Faisal Javed, Ali Nawaz Awan, Saifullah Niazi, Zartaj Gul, and Asad Umar.

The court also acquitted the PTI founder in the May 9 case registered at Khanna Police Station. The judicial magistrate's verdict stated that, according to the FIR, the PTI founder incited others and was accused of playing a role in incitement.

However, the evidence on record is not sufficient to prove the allegations against him.

The court cannot proceed with the case against the PTI founder based on such evidence, it added. The verdict further stated that an accused cannot be deprived of their legal rights without a cause.

The prosecution's case is not based on solid evidence. Even if the prosecution records the available evidence, it does not prove the PTI founder's guilt.

Considering the facts, the prosecution's story has become highly questionable. Proceeding with the case based on the current evidence would waste the court's valuable time, it added.

The court ordered that the PTI founder's acquittal application in the case registered at Khanna Police Station on May 9, 2023, is approved.

Almost the entire PTI leadership was booked under various charges after the violent protests that erupted on May 9, 2023 following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a corruption case.