ATC discharges women arrested during PTI protest

Special Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Syed Amjad Ali Shah has ruled the arrest of 80-year-old Roshan Jahan and six other women during a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest at Liaquat Bagh on September 28 as illegal, discharging them from terrorism charges and ordering their release.

The court granted a four-day physical remand for 74 other arrested activists, including provincial assembly members Iqbal Khattak and Tanveer Aslam, along with assembly candidate Seemabiya Tahir, requiring their appearance in court again on October 4.

The plea for physical remand of four women—Anila, Farhat Toqeer, Nusrat Anwar and Samina Irshad—was denied and they were sent to Adiala Jail for 14 days on judicial remand. Among those released were Roshan Jahan, Ayesha Mustafa Advocate, Shamsa Shah, Ghazala, Farhat and Nusrat, along with Khawaja Farooq. The Rawalpindi police had charged them with terrorism, vandalism, arson, and attacks on police personnel, including snatching weapons and damaging property.

All arrested individuals were brought to court under heavy security. Defence counsels Malik Faisal and Hasnain Sambal argued that the charges were politically motivated and requested that all workers be placed on discharge or judicial remand.

The police sought five days of physical remand. The court instructed the four police stations involved to complete their investigations and submit a report within four days.