Court postpones May 9 trials

The special Anti-Terrorism Court has adjourned the hearing of 14 cases related to the May 9 incident, including the attack on GHQ (General Headquarters), across the Rawalpindi Division without any proceedings to take place until October 5.

In the cases of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, both were unable to appear in court as they are currently in jail. As for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, the request for exemption from attendance that he had submitted earlier, was accepted.

The hearing of former Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed's applications for acquittal in 12 cases due to lack of evidence was also adjourned. At the start of the hearing, several former ministers filed applications for exemption from attendance, including Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, Umar Ayub, Shibli Faraz and Muhammad Basharat Raja, all of which were accepted. Moreover, since Judge Malik Ejaz Asif's transfer, and no new judge has been appointed in his place. Therefore, the Duty District and Sessions Judge of Rawalpindi postponed the cases to a new date.

Around 500 PTI workers, who had been accused did appear in court. However, due to the absence of a judge, the hearing was held in the relevant court instead of Adiala Jail.